How do I help my children understand that their father and I are separated and never getting back together?
My children are 6 and 3 and the older one is really struggling with the separation even though we have been separated for some time. How do I help her get through this tough time?
How do I help?
How do I help?
Posted in:
Parenthood Guilt
1 Replies
I think the best thing to do is to work on your co parenting skills together. Even though you're separated and that's not going to change, presenting a united front in all other aspects will help maintain that stability and it'll help her understand that it will all be ok.
I think too, you just need to answer any of her questions as honestly as possible - ie. Don't give false hope that there may be a possibility of getting back together etc (obviously not divulging any adult information). And just have this as an ongoing conversation, let her talk about her feelings towards it, let her process it. This isnt just something kids adapt to quickly, thier whole world has just shifted and that takes time to adjust to, denial is a pretty common emotion in these situations (I remember when my parents broke up, if I didn't think about it, didn't tell people about it and just plain acted like all was normal - it was like it wasn't happening. It's a bit of a coping mechanism I think)
She will get there in her own time xx