When Kids Divorce: Conversations for Parents and In-Laws to Have

Divorce is a process of dissolving a relationship. However, the relationship is not just between the husband and wife, it involves two complete families, his and hers. When a divorce occurs it breaks apart many relationships.

Parents of Divorced Kids

It is important for parents to support their children when they get a divorce. This extra support not only helps make the process emotionally more manageable, but it also helps to reinforce the old family ties. The support that parents can give to their children include being non-judgmental, being good listeners and offering to help the child get their life back together or to help them get back on their feet after the divorce.

Grandparent Roles

Another way that parents of children who are divorcing can support their kids is to offer to help out with the grandchildren. They can offer to babysit so that the parents can deal with their divorce business without impacting the kids, it can provide the parents with the chance to take a break and it can also provide the kids with the opportunity to escape their parents' divorce for a few days.

Dealing with the In-laws

While not all in-laws are going to get along with each other, in some cases friendships do develop. When your kids are going through a divorce it can be helpful to reach out to your in-laws to figure out how each set of parents can assist positively in the evolution of their family to a divorced family. For example, they can discuss how they can offer support to the couple and their children. This may mean figuring out when one set of grandparents can transport the kids to their activities or figuring out how to keep the family unit in tact after the divorce.

Talking with the in-laws can be very difficult when your kids are getting divorced. This is because each set of parents will want to protect their child first. This can cause tension and conflict between the sets of grandparents. Fortunately, this problem can be overcome by simply focusing on a common goal, to get everyone through the process with as little trauma as possible.