How Not to Treat Your Kids During Your Divorce

Even the best parents can become overly emotional and slightly irrational when going through a divorce. Under the best of circumstances, divorce is a stressful transition that becomes even more difficult when you and your soon-to-be-ex share children. If you are not careful, however, you may unintentionally hurt your children and your relationship with them, which is likely to only make your situation worse.

Keep Your Kids Out of It

While communicating with your ex may be painful, annoying, or just downright impossible, you will have to do so for the sake of your children. Don’t use your child as the messenger or go-between with your ex. Conveying messages and timesharing arrangements is not your child’s job. It is the job of adults. Even if your child is mature for his or her age, he or she shouldn’t be placed in this position.

Don’t Put Your Child’s Other Parent Down

You may still feel angry, sad, upset, and emotional about the break-up of your family. However, this does not give you the right to put your ex-spouse down in front of your child. Doing so actually makes you look bad, and it will make your child feel awful.

Don’t Allow Your Child to Learn the Details of Your Divorce

Your child doesn’t need to know much or how little you are getting in child support or spousal support. Don’t blame your ex when you can’t afford to pay a bill or pay for something your child has asked for. Don’t tell your child to go ask his or her other parent for money. No matter how financially strapped you are, and even if it is your ex’s fault, don’t complain to your children about it.

Avoid Having Your Child Meet All of Your Dates

Don’t ask your child what he thinks of your new boyfriend or girlfriend. Refrain from the public displays of affection in front of your children. Introducing your children to everyone you date is confusing, scary and even hurtful for a child who is still recovering from the breakup of his or her parents.

Schedule a Meeting With Florida Divorce Attorney Vanessa L. Prieto

Divorce involves many different challenging issues, but your kids always should remain your main focus. By avoiding these harmful behaviors, you can make the divorce process easier for your children and yourself. If, however, you are unable to resolve certain matters with your ex that are related to your children, then you may have to turn to the court for relief. If you find yourself in this situation, you will need legal advice and representation that only an experienced family law attorney can offer you. Call your Fort Lauderdale family lawyer at the office of Vanessa Prieto and set up an appointment today.

Resource:

huffingtonpost.com/entry/10-things-kids-of-divorce-do-not-want-parents-to-do_us_57abdaaee4b08c46f0e4b03c