Today, we’re going to talk about how to discuss Divorce or Paternity cases with your children. Part of what makes these cases so difficult is that you have to continue raising your kids while litigating with the other parent about HOW you’re going to raise your kids. There are a lot of different variables that can affect how you discuss these issues with your children, but I’m going to give you some basic guidelines today that I think will make the process easier.
First, don’t trash the other parent in front of your children. There are a couple of good reasons for this. In most cases, the two of you are going to wind up raising the child together. Poisoning the child’s relationship with the other parent is just going to make that harder. Also, if this matter goes to hearing, the Court is probably going to find out what you’ve been doing, and they’re not going to be happy with you.
Second, it’s important that you let the children know that you love them and care about them while the case is going on. Let them know that you and the other parent still care about each other, and they still care about them. With that said, don’t give the children any false hope about the two of you getting back together.
Next, keep the details of what you’re actually doing in Court vague, particularly if the children are young. Let the kids know that the law requires that the Court figure out what’s in their best interests and set up an arrangement that takes good care of them. Let them know that what they want matters, but it’s not the only thing that matters. Let them know that it’s going to be okay.
The best thing you can do to help out your family case is to be a good parent. Part of being a good parent is communicating with your children about hard situations, including their parents getting divorced. If you can avoid trashing the other parent, let the kids know you love them, and avoid burdening them with the details of litigation, then you’re off to a good start.
https://youtu.be/YnZX_z-bo5U
