Divorce Essay -- essays research papers

Divorce among Americans is rampant. Anymore, divorces are as common as marriages themselves. Couples marry and then something goes wrong in their relationship, so they divorce. Although a divorce may be hard on the adults involved, what about the children? What happens to the kids of these broken marriages? Some parents who are going through a divorce wonder what the effects of their divorce will be on their children. They worry that the divorce will cause their children emotional problems that will affect them for the rest of their lives. These worries are not unreasonable. Depending on the age of the child, the effects of divorce can vary. Small children do not understand what is happening at all. They can’t comprehend why Mommy and Daddy do not live together anymore. Sometimes small children are afraid that if Daddy doesn’t live with them anymore, then Mommy might leave too. Some small children may revert to less mature behavior. A child may start to use a pacifier again, or a child that has been potty trained may begin to have multiple "accidents." Children who are a little older and in the beginning years of school (6 to 8 years old} usually respond to their parents divorce with grief. They tend to cry a lot. These children, no matter what their previous relationship with the absent parent was, feel a great sense of loss for this parent. The absent parent, though not always, is usually the father. These young children usually begin to idolize ...