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When children benefit from divorce

Understandably, many parents worry that their decisions to divorce will negatively affect their children. In the wake of a divorce, everyone affected by it may experience hurt, anger, frustration, sadness and other negative emotions to some degree or another. But numerous studies have shown that divorce often benefits children, depending both on the circumstances surrounding the divorce itself and how their parents handle both their married and single lives.

When children grow up in homes significantly impacted by marital tension, they may suffer a host of negative consequences as a result. Some children internalize the stress that they feel radiating from their parents. Others act out, struggle in relationships later in life and otherwise cope with the tension in the only ways they know how. However, if parents make the decision to divorce and ultimately use that decision as inspiration to lead healthier, happier lives, children can benefit tremendously as a result.

This is not to say that children will not be stung in the aftermath of a decision to divorce or will not suffer any negative emotions associated with one. However, it is entirely possible that parents can give their children a happier, healthier life and serve as healthier role models apart than they can together, under certain circumstances. Especially if parents remain willing to work together to ensure that their child custody arrangements are constructed in the best interests of their children, divorce can truly benefit children in the long-run if the alternative is living in an unhealthy, unhappy and tense home.

Source: The Huffington Post, “5 Reasons I Wish My Parents Would Have Divorced,†Miranda Rose, Jan. 29, 2015

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