Helping Children Cope with Divorce

Children of divorce are at risk for increased emotional and educational problems including anxiety and depression. A two-hour, court mandated program entitled "Helping Children Cope with Divorce" was developed to help parents understand these risks as well as how to communicate with children about the divorce and help children adjust to the changes in the family. Through a variety of educational methods, parents learn how to keep children out of the crossfire. The authors have surveyed nearly 340 program participants with end-of-meeting evaluations which revealed that parents now recognize that their children are more affected by divorce than they realized.