How Children are damaged by divorce

The Times - London, 2/5/95, Author Ian Robertson ( Ian is a senior scientist at the MRC Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge ).

When parents split up, they leave lasting emotional scars on their children.

What happens to your children if you or your partner dies? It's the kind of thought which goes through the minds of most parents now and again. As a parent you have probably taken out life insurance with such a possibility in mind, From time to time you have worried about the effect on your child - emotionally, socially and financially - of losing you or your spouse. You know that children above a certain age, never forget the death of a mother or father and you appreciate that this may affect them for the rest of their lives.

But have you thought what will happen to your children if you divorce or separate? You won't have taken out any insurance against this and probably haven't thought much about it as much as you have about the possibility of dying. This is a pity, because children are damaged much more by divorce than they are by parental death. More..