Activities to Do with Your Child to Help Them Cope with Your Divorce

Divorce doesn’t only affect you and your spouse — it also affects your children and can be one of the most difficult experiences of their childhood. Often, children feel a wide array of emotions that they may not be able to articulate when their parents part ways. It’s important for you to provide the love, understanding, and support they need as they go through this transition. Significantly, there are a number of activities you can do with your child to help them cope.

Here are several tips on how to help kids through divorce:

1. Draw Pictures with Your Child

While many younger children have difficulty expressing their emotions in words, drawing pictures can be a more effective way for them to communicate how they feel. For instance, they might be feeling anger, guilt, sadness, worry, loneliness, nervousness, and confusion. Drawing pictures or creating artwork can help them process these emotions. After your child has completed the picture, ask them to tell you about what they have drawn.

2. Have Your Child Write in a Journal

Journaling can be a productive way to help your child express themselves during and after the divorce process. By writing down their feelings and finding their own voice, they can begin the process of collecting their thoughts and healing. They can also have time to reflect and learn to confront the emotions they are feeling. Importantly, journaling can also help your child to develop emotional intelligence, reduce stress, and boost their creativity.

3. Encourage Your Child to Write Letters

Another way to help kids through divorce is by encouraging them to write letters to you and their other parent. This can allow them the opportunity to put their feelings in writing in order to process them. Tell them that they should write whatever they feel and they don’t have to give you or the other parent the letters if they choose not to — it’s the act of writing the letters themselves that is most helpful.

4. Write a Personal History Timeline

It’s not uncommon for children to worry about the future when their parents are going through a divorce. By creating a timeline of their lives, it can allow them to visualize what they have experienced in the past and give them more happy times to look forward to in the future. Talk with your child about the experiences that they’ve had, whether they are positive or negative — and help them focus on the good times that are ahead.

5. Talk with Your Child

One of the best ways to help kids through divorce is to simply talk with them about how they’re feeling. While children often have many worries and questions about divorce, they will have an easier time adjusting if they feel they can speak with their parents about their fears. Pick the right time to have these conversations and ask them questions that will help them identify their feelings and discuss their emotions.

6. Engage in Physical Activities

Engaging in physical activities can help you spend quality time with your child while releasing negative feelings in a healthy way. Sometimes, these activities can also provide a good setting for conversation. Swimming, hiking, rollerblading, flying kites, camping, and biking are all bonding activities that you can do together with your child to relieve the pent-up stress that can come with divorce.

7. Find Creative Ways to Communicate

When parents divorce, it can sometimes become more difficult for the child to communicate with the parent they don’t live with. Find creative ways to communicate with your child to maintain strong bonds when you are not with them. For example, you might exchange video recordings, email, or even send things through the mail to each other. Another way to communicate by sharing photos and other information is by creating a family website.

8. Spend Time Together

Spending time with your child is the best way you can help them cope with divorce. Whether it involves playing a board game, eating dinner together, or going out for ice cream, by being present, you can allow your child to feel safe and heard. Regardless of the emotional stress of divorce, setting aside time each day to spend with your child can help you protect your child’s wellbeing and ensure they form secure bonds with you.

Contact an Experienced Missouri Divorce and Family Law Attorney

If you are wondering how to help your kids through divorce, a compassionate and skillful divorce and family law attorney can help you ensure their best interests are met. Divorce and family law attorney Mark A. Wortman provides knowledgeable representation to clients in the greater Kansas City, Missouri area for divorce matters and a wide array of family law issues. To schedule a confidential consultation to learn how he can help with your case, please contact him today online or by calling (816) 523-6100.