The Negative Effects of Divorce on Children

Connor Gravette

"So many persons think divorce a panacea for every ill, find out, when they try it, that the remedy is worse than the disease" (Qtd in Harper 192). Divorce in any situation tears a child apart, tossing them from one house to another, limiting the time spent with their parents, and confusing them. There arent very many reasons that would show to be more beneficial for the parent to leave than to stay and keep their marriage. Usually its better for the children if their parents work through their differences rather than get a divorce.

To anyone, divorce is a horrible word. There is no way to make the word sound better or make it less painful. According to the Webster’s Dictionary, divorce is "the legal dissolution of marriage or the termination of an existing relationship or union" (Webster’s 370). This definition makes it seem formal and doesnt   show the feeling that people have when the word is mentioned. To most children, divorce is much more than a legal dissolution; it is their whole world being torn apart and thrown on the ground in pieces.

One of the biggest problems that divorce imposes on children is the decision of who they should live with. Usually parents divorce when children are small and the children have no say in where they go. Since the child cant choose, this usually leads to custody battles that end in split custody or joint custody. Whatever the choice turns out to be, either one of them will be detrimental to the child.

When split custody is decided, it forces either the child or the court to choose which parent to live with and which one is in the childs best interest. It limits the time the child spends with both parenta. When the child only lives with one parent, the relationship with the other parent can be severely damaged. According to the National Survey of Children, close to half of all children with divorced parents have not seen their nonresidential parent... [continues]

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