Your own happiness improves your kids’ lives

Have you ever heard two unhappy parents talk about staying together for the kids? Do you think that divorce may actually be better for the kids than the marriage?

For example, perhaps your spouse is abusive. It’s typically just emotional abuse, but it has also turned into financial abuse and it’s occasionally physical.

You’ve been trying to put up with it so that the kids have two parents in the home. You grit your teeth. You hope it will stop. You try to fake a smile.

The reality, though, is that you’re unhappy. Your spouse is unhappy. Is this a good home for the children to grow up in?

Experts say that it’s not, and some have argued that divorce is certainly the better option. Even throwing out the threat of abuse to you and the kids — you must protect yourself and the children — they can suffer from living in an unhappy home.

Remember that your children learn from watching you. They tend to “absorb” the way you feel, the things you do, and the way you treat them. If you want them to be happy, healthy and confident, you also need to be happy, healthy, and confident.

In that sense, while staying together for the kids may sound like you’re putting them first, you may accidentally be doing precisely the opposite.

As you consider a divorce, be sure you know your legal rights and your options. Remember to focus on your children’s best interests. Put their happiness first and strive to find a solution that gives them an optimal living situation.

Source: Huffington Post, “Why a Good Divorce Is Better Than a Bad Marriage for Kids,” Brette Sember, accessed July 21, 2017