Activities to Explain Divorce to Children
When a divorce happens, it affects everyone in the family. There is no doubt that when families split up, there is often a great deal of pain involved. It is common for the youngest members of the family to bear many of the scars. According to a 1980 study as reported on in Childadvocate.net/divorce, less than 10 percent of young people receive adequate preparation by adults in their lives during the early phase following the divorce. However, there are several therapeutic activities for children of divorce that can lessen the emotional impact and pain the event can inflict.
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"Feeling Faces" Worksheet
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A feeling faces worksheet has several different faces on it, each expressing a different emotion. Many of these emotions are ones common for children of divorce to feel early on when their parents decide to separate. As stated within Kidsturn.org, this type of activity helps children feel they are heard regarding the events, especially when families undergo intense reorganization.
Reading Books Together
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According to Purdue University's Provider-Parent Partnerships, it is often quite difficult to talk to children about divorce. Reading books with your children can help. Suggested books deal specifically with divorce, with many written from a child's perspective. Some titles are Vicky Lansky's "It's Not Your Fault, KoKo Bear," C. M. Spelman's "Mama and Daddy Bear's Divorce," as well as M. Heegaard's "When Mom and Dad Separate: Children Learn To Cope With Divorce."
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Play Therapy
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Specialists at the University of Missouri Extension believe structured play sessions with children are excellent for them to express their feelings about the divorce when it is most difficult for them to talk about it elsewhere. Some examples of play activities are puppet shows and role-play. The puppets are just finger puppets, but they talk about the divorce and all of the emotional turmoil from the child's perspective. Role-play will usually entail the children playing out a scene where their deepest fears about the divorce are given a voice. When expressing these fears, often the children learn ways to healthfully express themselves to their parents.
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References
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