Many of the parents we speak to talk about their “rights”, or their feelings and emotions. It is so easy for the needs, wishes, and feelings of children to become secondary to what is happening for parents. We understand this and why it happens.
When a relationship ends, the emotions we experience as adults are often overwhelming. Navigating the sense of loss and the strange new world we find ourselves in takes a lot of emotional energy. It’s perfectly normal to feel worried, exhausted, sad, scared, angry, overwhelmed, frustrated, and confused (sometimes all at once) and these feelings can be intense.
Whilst experiencing these emotions we can sometimes forget to stop and think about how children might be experiencing the changes in their lives.
The Royal College of Psychiatry tells us that, children may feel:
- a sense of loss – separation from a parent can mean you lose not only your home but your whole way of life
- different, with an unfamiliar family
- fearful about being left alone – if one parent can go, perhaps the other will do the same
- angry at one or both parents for the relationship breakdown
- worried about having caused the parental separation: guilty
- rejected and insecure
- torn between both parents.
Where the ending of the relationship is characteristic of long-term conflict the impacts can be much worse and potentially long-lasting.
With this in mind, we are immensely proud to announce the launch of . . . .
The Child of Separated Parents
This powerful resource aims to remind us of the needs, wishes, and feelings of children when experiencing parental separation so that we can understand their needs and prioritise them in decision-making.
Please share this content for and wide so that people understand the experiences of children and help us to ensure that ‘Parenting Doesn’t End When Relationships Do!’
The Child of Separated Parents (ENG)
