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How Does Divorce Affect Young Children?

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How Does Divorce Affect Young Children?
How does divorce affect young children?

Dana Noel Mack
Sociology 219: Sociology of the Family
April 7,2012

The topic I chose to write about is how divorce affects young children. There are many reasons I chose this topic. One reason is because many adults do not think about how their actions affect their children. Another reason is because a lot of times have their children pick sides in a divorce. This causes the children to believe that neither one of their parents love them. When in essence the do but they don’t know how to help their children through divorce proceedings without them having to pick which parent is their “friend” without hurting the other ones feelings. The overall reason I picked this topic is because after a divorce many young children are confused. They are confused because they are sometimes too young to understand what is going on so they tend to scream for help but their parents ignore them. Then they start to act out in school and their parents know why they are doing it but cannot help them express their feelings. This topic is sociologically important because young children need help understanding what divorce is and how to cope with it. They also need to understand that it was not their fault their parents got divorced or are getting divorced. I am living proof of how parents put their children in the middle of their marital issues. My parents have been talking about getting a divorce for a couple of years now. They always ask myself and my little brother if they were ever to get a divorce who would go with whom. At first I would say “I am going with mommy”. Now since I am older and wiser I just walk away from the conversation. But my little brother says “I going with daddy”. When he says that I feel so broken hearted because he does not know what he says may have ramifications in the end. This short little story is why I whole heartily believe young children need to be left out of divorce proceedings. All

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