About Us

The Project

For Children

For Parents

Change and balance
Divorce disrupted the sense of continuity children had in their lives. They responded by attempting to control the impact of events and by seeking to return to a 'normal' way of life as soon as possible.

Communication
Communication between children and parents was not always effective. Children acknowledged they did not always understand what parents were trying to say, and were aware of their own difficulties in asking for information.

Legal aspects
Children's understanding of the legal process was poor and generally derived from misleading television or cinema portrayals. They were told little about the legal process by their parents and were less interested in this than other aspects of divorce.

Language of time
Lacking a sophisticated emotional vocabulary, children often used 'time' as a metaphor to describe the nature and quality of their relationship with parents.

Children's active involvement
Children played many active, often unacknowledged, roles during their parents' divorce. However, they frequently felt excluded from decisions which directly affected them and expressed a wish to be considered and consulted at all stages.

Children's coping and support networks
Children often sought to talk to others, especially friends, to secure reassurance, advice or to be listened to. They felt they would have benefited from direct access to information they wanted and to people who would listen, accept and understand.