Friday, January 14, 2011

Divorce and Children

      A child asked this week if I thought she was a bad kid.  I looked at her with surprise and asked, “What makes you ask such a question?  I think you’re a wonderful kid.”  The child, looking down at her feet cries quietly, “I think my mom and dad are getting a divorce because I’ve been a bad kid.  They always yell at me and are upset at me.  I try to be good but I just can’t.”   She slowly raises her head and looks into my eyes for her answer.  The girl and I have lots to talk about.   
     When a couple struggles in their relationship people know.  Friends, family, coworkers and children feel the stress of an unhealthy relationship.  They become the unwilling target of projected, unwarranted explosions and belittling by an angry, anxious, scared friend, daughter or mom whose about to end their marriage.  I hate divorce because I believe it is an easy escape to an uncomfortable but fixable situation.
     Couples get angry, intolerable, rude and verbally abusive.  When this happens in a marriage the marriage loses balance.  Balance must be regained for the marriage to be successful. 
     A non-negotiable action that must result in instant separation is physical abuse.  When a partner hits, someone has to leave.  Hitting is a powerful tool to gain control when all other attempts to control no longer work and cannot be condoned.  When someone hits, someone has to leave—period!
     Almost as devastating as physical abuse is infidelity.  When a partner wanders outside the marriage and becomes intimately physical with another person, a marriage is permanently damaged.  Trust is degraded; the victim becomes insecure in their ability to please their partner and the reason for the exploration always questioned.  Trust becomes improbable and frustration increases.  So, infidelity and physical abuse are relationship killers and intolerable.  Separation then rebuilding the relationship is the only answer.      
     How does one regain balance in a relationships to build a healthy marriage once that relationship has lost balance?  John Gottman in his book, “Why Marriages Succeed or Fail,” offer suggestions through years of research on the four behaviors that make marriages fail.  He calls them the, “Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.”
     The first horseman is CRITISISM.  Complaining is different that criticizing.  Complaining focuses on a person’s behavior, “When you wash my car you don’t clean the wheels, they always look dirty,” is complaining about the way one washes a car but does not criticize.  Criticizing is a personal attach such as, “You are lousy at washing cars and don’t care how my car looks.”  It is okay to complain but not criticize. 
    The next horseman is CONTEMPT.  Showing contempt for your spouse results in disrespect and being uncaring.  Being contemptuous includes insults and name-calling.  Calling ones’ spouse fat, stupid, ugly, a jerk, wimpy, and more creative or crude names result in degrading your spouse and forming a separation of intimacy.   
     Other forms of contempt include hostile humor and sarcasm, mockery and offering negative body language.  Rolling one’s eyes, making hurtful jokes or being sarcastic truly hurts, no matter the intent.  When a spouse says, “I was only joking, can’t you take a joke,” they are really saying, “I’m putting you down and degrading you and you need to accept it.”     
     The third horseman is DEFFENSIVENESS.  No matter what one’s partner charges, one insists they are not to blame and become defensive to everything one says.  Being defensive includes denying responsibility, making excuses, whining, offering a yes, but you did it first, excuse.  Mature, secure adults accept responsibility for their action and do not need to put blame on people who question their action.    
     The last horseman is STONEWALLING.  This is the strongest and most potent horseman due to its factor of control.  A person who stonewalls does not fight back; turns into a stone wall and does not argue, fight or show emotion. The stonewaller learns that it is safer to be quiet than to speak.  This really upsets the fighting spouse who wants feedback and is not getting it.  The stonewaller controls the debate by not participating in it.  Stonewalling stops communication and forces the spouse searching for feedback to search outside the home for a voice to listen to their discord. 
     How do we build an unhealthy relationship into a caring, nurturing relationship?  First, if you and your spouse are riding one or more horseman of the apocalypse, get off the horse.  Recognize your negative hurtful behavior and quit doing it.  If you can’t, search for help. 
     Second, if your relationship is dying and neither of you have committed the big non-negotiable acts (infidelity or physical abuse) it might be time to restart your relationship.  Look back to your wedding day.  Was it a happy day?  Do you have fond memories of your relationship when it was fresh and new?  If the answer is yes, it is time to rekindle that relationship.  If possible, move into different homes, maybe back with your parents and start dating again. 
     Ask each other out on the first date again (remember the four horseman and don’t fall into the hurtful, abusively controlling ways of the horseman again).  Wait for a few dates for that first kiss, become a gentleman and open the car door for your date, be kind, generous, bring flowers and talk about your future and what being in love might really look and feel like. 
     It is time to rewrite your past into a new future.  Your past as a couple didn’t work.  Reinvent your past and create a new future.  You will be surprised at the outcome. 
     Lastly, if none of this works and divorce is the only option, remember your kids.  The ONLY way kids remain healthy after divorce is if parents co-parent effectively.  Let your children know you are divorcing because mom and dad can’t get along and it has nothing to do with them. 
     When talking with your ex-spouse, pretend you still like each other.  Kids struggle with love and loyalty during divorce.  They are loyal to the custodial parent and will protect them 100%.  The opposite is true when they are with the other parent and protect that parent when visiting.  Don’t put kids in the middle of your divorce.  
     Never speak poorly about your ex-spouse in front of your kids.  Don’t make boys become the, “man of the house,” or girls become, “little moms.”  Let your kids be kids.  If you’re sad, be sad in private; don’t turn your children into caretakers.  Don’t pit kids against parents and keep them out of court proceedings.
     Divorce is evil and hurts all involved.  To lesson the hurt, be kind!                           

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this Bill....I seperated from my husband hoping he would get help with his alcoholism...he filed for divorce...I have the children and he is entitled to supervised visitation and if he wants more time (and alone) he has to take drug and alcohol test (volunteerly), take a parenting class, anger management and AA meetings, the only thing he has done is go to AA meetings and I won't mention why he goes but it's not for recovery....my children have seen the fights it broke my heart...restraining order filed at one point...I've never spoke ill of my ex husband yet his actions spoke volumes...it's been 5 years and I refuse to give up...my thoughts, one day a miricle will happen and we'll one day reunite...in the mean time I focus on the mental health and happiness of my children and like-wise for myself...I agree that divorce is evil and more importantly I made a promise to my Heavenly Father at the alter.

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  2. Thank you Bill! I am divorced and my Ex and I are remarried. We share custody of the kids , have never went to court because we got into this as adults and agreed to resolve this as adults. Our kids have two homes and as hard as it is , they both know they are loved and we never talk ill of the other and work together on needed issues. It is what it is but better than kids being raised in a loveless home.

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  3. I love hearing from a parents who can coparent well while divorced. Never give up on the kids. No matter what they say or do, they still love and are loyal to BOTH parents. Sometimes divorce has to happen. When it does, be honest with the kids and tell them what their future will look like...tough stuff!

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  4. great blog..if parents are having divorce they should think of their kids, on what would happen to them and how it would affect them..they should talk to their kids about the situation sooner or later they will understand but they should know that the kids would be emotional..

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