Holidays can be difficult for children during a divorce. To ease the pain, establish new traditions for you and your children to enjoy over the holidays. New Christmas activities will bring you and your children together and give them joy during this trying time. If possible, plan a joint Christmas celebration with your spouse because that will help your children feel you both still love them. If that’s not practical, plan new activities for you and your children to … [Read more...]
Impending Divorce? How to Not Spoil the Holidays
The end-of-the-year holiday season can be stressful. There are presents to buy and meals to cook and people to be around with whom we don’t necessarily agree. Even the most functional of families sometimes find it difficult to maintain their equilibrium among all the chaos. Add divorce into the mix and the situation can quickly go from precarious to disastrous. Here are some tips for how to make the holidays go smoothly when you’re dealing with restructured families. Plan everything in … [Read more...]
College Students and Divorce
Much has been written about children and divorce. Divorcing or divorced parents of college-aged students may underestimate how this change in family circumstance affects their offspring. College students are not “immune” from effects of changes within the family unit, parents’ behaviors and expectations, or uncertainty regarding where they belong in their family post divorce. The apprehension surrounding this “new normal” can leave a young adult feeling out of sorts and emotionally … [Read more...]
Making New Holiday Traditions While Divorcing
Holidays can be daunting for children in the middle of a divorce. No matter how you celebrated past holidays, you need to establish new traditions now that you are divorcing. New holiday activities will help your children forget the pain of divorce and bring them joy. If possible, plan a joint Thanksgiving or Christmas celebration with your spouse because that will help your children feel comfortable. If that’s not practical, begin new traditions with your children. Keep the Kids … [Read more...]
Holiday Time-Sharing When You Are a “Different (Divorced) Kind of Family”
Holidays are a time for families. There is perhaps no more difficult time to be divorced than during the holiday season when everywhere that you look you see a reminder of what you have lost. In light of how hard it is for divorced adults to get through the holidays, it is just as hard for your children when their “new normal” or their “different kind of family” means they are sharing their holiday celebrations between homes and between parents. Divorced parents create a year round … [Read more...]
Happy Holidaze
The holiday season can be a time of merriment when celebrating with family and friends. Parents raising children in two homes, alternating time with the other parent may experience feelings of anxiousness or sadness during this time. Instead of grieving past family traditions, parents are encouraged to follow the following guidelines so that they might provide their children the best holiday experience ever. 1. Communicate directly and early with your co-parent Send business-like emails to the … [Read more...]
When NOT to Tell Your Kids About Divorce
One of the most difficult challenges facing parents who are planning to divorce is what to tell their children. While indeed this is perhaps the most painful conversation that you will ever have, a frequently overlooked dynamic is the timing of this discussion. Empathize with Your Child As a parent, it is extremely important to see this experience from your child’s perspective. Once the actual decision is finally made, you are often driven by anxiety to tell your child as quickly as possible; … [Read more...]
