How Will You Tell Your Children About Your Divorce?

Once you and your spouse are on the same page about getting a divorce, you can turn your full attention to the well-being of your children. This starts with telling them about your decision, while also explaining how it’ll impact them in the future.

There is no perfect way to tell your children about your divorce, but here are some tips you can follow to help your cause:

• Keep it age-appropriate: The way you tell a 4-year-old about divorce won’t be the same as a 10-year-old. If you have children of varying ages, you may need to adjust your approach and language to account for this.
• Plan it out: Don’t sit down and hope the right words come to you. Have a clear idea of what you want to say, how you want to say it and the way you’ll follow up to the way your children react.
• Do it together: If possible, you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse should sit down together with your children. Even if you’re not getting along, showing a united front is a big deal during this difficult time.
• Prepare to do it again: It’s not likely that you’ll tell your children about your divorce one time and never discuss it again. You should prepare to have this conversation several times, as your children are likely to have questions and concerns in the future.

Once your children understand what’s happening, you’ll find it easier to turn your full attention to the divorce process, your legal rights and the steps you want to take to make your split as painless and stress-free as possible.