Divorce is hard on children, especially when they have thoughts and emotions that they aren’t sure how to deal with yet. As a parent, it might be your natural inclination to want to protect them from all of these but that likely isn’t going to happen.
One of the negative things that might happen during the divorce is sibling rivalry. You might find that this gets much worse after a divorce. You can help your child learn how to deal with the emotions and feelings so that you might be able to prevent the sibling rivalry.
Sometimes sibling rivalry is caused by children blaming themselves or each other for the divorce. You can help to prevent this by making it clear that the children aren’t the reason for the divorce. Let the children know that sometimes adults who loved each other just don’t get along anymore and need to split up.
Another thing that can cause issues is the need for attention. Children who have gone through a divorce sometimes want to get all of the attention that they can. They might act out in ways that aren’t normal for them. You should try to give your children some one-on-one time with you so that they feel the support.
It is also possible that the children will be stressed out. They might not know how to handle these feelings. Ultimately, this could lead to fights because of the stress. Try to find ways to help the children relax and get their energy out. You can also use this time to teach them about conflict resolution methods that might help to reduce the tension.
Source: Our Family Wizard, “3 Reasons Sibling Rivalry Can Worsen After a Divorce (And How to Prevent Them),” accessed Sep. 29, 2017
