Young children may have difficulty adjusting to the divorce/separation of their parents; as it is a major loss of the family routines that supported their sense of security. Intense and confusing feelings are typically expressed through challenging behaviors; such as moodiness, anger towards the parents, self-blame, clinging to the parents, sleep issues, wetting/soiling accidents, and lying or withholding information about the other parent, among others.
It is naturally difficult for parents to support their children with these feelings and behaviors because they themselves have intense feelings about the ending of their marriage/relationship. In addition, parents have to navigate new custody arrangements, visitation schedules and co-parenting. Although your best option is child and family counseling, when this is not possible, coaching for divorced/separate parent(s) with a mental health professional can improve the child’s coping significantly. Either coaching for and individual parent, or for two or more co-parents improves the dynamics for all involved.
Dr. Diana Bermudez specializes in helping parents with:
