Cutting Edge Solutions...

Old Style Service And Values

Attorneys Vic Hill and Brad MacDonald

Tips for communicating with your children after divorce

All parents struggle with trying to communicate and maintain a close connection with their children. Every family can face challenges with communication, but divorced parents often have more issues when communicating with their children during and after their divorce.

Studies have shown that families who do not have good communication between parents and children suffer more negative consequences after the divorce. On the other hand, families who maintain good communication and trust between all family members fare better after parents get divorced.

This is why it is important for divorced parents to make sure they are still able to communicate with their children. Even if parents have not had success communicating and creating trust with their children before getting divorced, there are still steps parents can take to improve their relationship with their children.

Family experts recommend that divorced parents try to make an effort to communicate more effectively with their children and offer support and trust for their children during and after the divorce. When children don’t feel emotionally supported by their parents or if they don’t think they can trust their parents, many children of divorce feel abandoned or neglected by their parents and their family.

Divorced parents should consider the following tips to open the lines of communication with their children:

  • Share your experiences and feelings with your children and then ask your children how they feel
  • Don’t forget to ask children about other issues not related to the divorce
  • Don’t talk bad about your ex in front of your children
  • Make an effort to communicate with your children regularly

These tips should help divorced parents think about ways to communicate with their children and what to discuss and what to avoid. Divorce can feel like a traumatic experience for the entire family but with thoughtful considerations and even some planning, creating a trusting and supportive atmosphere with your children can make your family life even better than it was before the divorce.

Source: Huffington Post, “Talk ‘To’, Not ‘At’, Your Child During and After Divorce,” Rosalind Sedacca, March 23, 2013