Divorce jolts a child’s world. Children often assume that they somehow caused the separation. They want their parents to stay together and try desperately to repair their family. Children may lose their home, security, and stability in a separation. And even more daunting, a divorce is not something a child chooses.
Benefit of a Child Specialist
Often times young children don’t even know what divorce means. The decision to have a child specialist participate in the divorce process provides a unique opportunity to have someone with a lot of training and experience to truly represent what is in the best interest of the children.
In a collaborative divorce, the neutral child specialist not only assesses the needs of the children but also educates the parents on what they can do to guide their children towards a successful life after their parents’ divorce.
Impact on Children
One thing to remember during a divorce process is that, though children are resilient, they soak up emotional energy around them like a sponge.
It is easy for children to get lost in the process. Which is why it is so important for parents to spend one on one time with their child to address his or her child’s needs. Each child deals with divorce differently, depending on their age, gender, temperament, and developmental stage.
Divorce can and does impact children in various ways; primarily in how and what they learn about relationships. This is all the more reason to treat one another with respect throughout the process. Using the collaborative divorce process reinforces mutual respect.