Every day, children in New York live with the effects of their parents’ decision to divorce. To be clear, sometimes these effects are good, especially in scenarios where one parent was abusive and has now lost all custodial and visitation rights. However, there are negative effects on children too, if both parents cannot cooperate to find peaceful resolutions to shared problems.
According to CNN, judges still overwhelmingly side with women when it comes to awarding primary custodial rights. This may often result in children losing contact with their fathers. However, it works the other way around, too. Sometimes mothers are the ones who get the short end of the stick. In either case, it creates a scenario where a child may lose contact with a parent who they previously shared a close bond with. Children may also face negative financial consequences when parents do not pay child support.
Emotions may run high in custodial battles, so Forbes reminds parents that regardless of the relationship between ex-spouses, the children should always be the main focus. One good time to focus on helping children to transition is at the start of a school year, when they are already used to the motions of transitioning from one grade or school to the next.
The start of the first school year following a divorce is also a period of change for parents. Here are some tips to help create a smooth transition for children:
- Children benefit from hearing academic expectations from both parents, preferably at the same time, even if the other parent is just on the phone.
- Parents should try to maintain and enforce the same rules when it comes to homework, extra-curricular activities and other key aspects of a child’s life.
- Syncing calendars for events related to the child helps to make it easier for both parents to be present for big moments, such as graduations and competitions.
Not every divorced parent will have the privilege of co-parenting peacefully and effectively. Sometimes, there are clear and necessary reasons to cut ties with the former spouse. And, sometimes the other party has no interest in maintaining their role as a parent.
