How to Help Children Deal With Separation

Separation from your spouse is a life altering situation. Your way of life has completely changed, as well as your children's. How you deal with it though can have a major impact on your children. There are things you need to look for and do to help your children deal with separation in the best possible way.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Communicate openly with your children. Talk to them whenever they are willing and try to initiate conversation with them. Let them know that you want to know how they feel and what they think and that it is important to you.
2. Allow your children to make choices whenever possible to increase the sense of control they have over their lives. It is scary for children as well as adults when they feel as if their life is spiraling out of their control.
3. Be honest with yourself that there is a potential for your children to be emotionally traumatized due to the separation. You should seek counseling for yourself and your children. No one should be considered strong enough to handle it on their own.
4. Foster a decent relationship with your spouse and treat each other kindly in front of your children. No one is the enemy.
5. Keep your routines the same so that the children still have a sense of security. It is very upsetting to children, and yourself, to have your whole lifestyle uprooted.
6. Remind the children that the separation is not because of anything they have done. Children are naturally egocentric and feel that everything they do impacts everyone else.