Having a knit-close family is one thing that everyone desires, with mother who cooks and serves dinner followed by chatters, laughters to one and another on the dining table; also father who takes you to the golf site every Sunday, and helps you with driving lessons are most likely to be scenes on movies we all would want to have. You're lucky enough if you have all of that already even if arguments and small misunderstandings happen quite often because your parents are still there living under the same roof and loving each other unconditionally.
However, things are different when it comes to having divorced parents. Even though we know that a lot of divorced couples try hard to work things out for their children despite the status and some of the divorce cause the children to lose a figure of a parent, be it mother or father. Despite the parents' decision on how to deal with divorce, there are eventually things that can affect the children who come from a broken family.
Even though the divorce is caused by an incompatibility in a relationship that includes fighting or violence, the children would still lack a parental figure along the journey of their growth and self-development post-divorce. Having to move to another household, school, having fewer material resources, even having to experience the custodial parent's change of behavior could actually affect the children in so many ways. A study conducted in 2013 found that mothers are often less supportive and less affectionate after divorce. This would inevitably affect the children's mental health as they only have one figure to hold on to, yet the custodial parent doesn't treat them the same way they got treated before.
Not to mention that the children also have to go through the big adjustments to get used to only having one parental figure who's physically close to them to rely on. This could increase the risk of children experiencing several mental health problems regardless of their gender, age, or cultural background. Several side effects of mental health conditions that children might go through include behavioral problems, poor academic performance, and troubled social interactions. Some children will go through this phase of big life adjustments if parents are well aware of the fact that their divorce affects the condition of their children and are trying to do their best to co-parent, fulfilling what they need be it spiritually, emotionally, or materially.
Substantially, co-parenting is supposed to be the thing that should be foreseen when couples are planning to separate because if the decision of separation was done without having the need to take a look at the impact on the children, the divorce is a sign of egocentrism of the couple. Co-parenting should be a commitment between the separating couple as it could influence the children's adjustment to the situation while they're growing up. Either way, co-parenting should involve maintaining a healthy relationship and doing it peacefully. Empowering the children should be another important thing to do to make them feel less like a victim of divorce. Also, parents should consider trying to always be there for the children no matter what the circumstances are because the only deal for them is to have their both parents right always on their side.
(DIP/DIR)