The Reality of Divorce

Divorce rates have risen dramatically over the past few decades. Married couples separate, and, although it is more difficult for some, they move on, with no strings attached. Is it possible for the children of those couples to move on so easily? Some may believe that everyone involved in the divorce will eventually recover. This belief is misguided. Children who suffer through their parents’ divorce experience emotional and behavioral problems as well as “sleeper” effects that may break out later on in their lives.

Since the 1970s, nearly a million children have been involved in a divorce each year (Zinsmeister 1). Parents believe that divorce is a solution to all of their problems. They think that separating, to stop all of the fighting, is best for everyone, including their children. This assumption by parents is wrong. The decision to divorce made by the parents can affect the lives of their youngsters dramatically.

Oftentimes, parents do not comprehend how much divorce affects their children. A prime example of their misunderstanding was discovered in a British study. The study questioned both parents and children of recent divorces, and it found that children were far more distressed than parents had thought (Zinsmeister 3). A similar survey, done by Professor Jeanne Dise-Lewis, that asked junior high children to rate how stressful they consider certain life events found that only the death of a close family member ranked higher than parental divorce (Zinsmeister 2). Delfos suggests that what children of divorce desire the most is simply for their parents to become partners again, without the conflicts (241, 242).

To children, divorce is a form of crisis; after such an event, children tend to lack needed emot...

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