Teenagers and Divorce

]Teenagers and Divorce In 2008, an estimated forty- percent of all marriages in the United States ended in divorce. Forty- percent of those once married couples have children. Now, imagine being the child of divorced parents, not having a say in anything that goes on in your surroundings anymore. Image that you are now a teenager and you are going to your dad or moms house for the weekend like you do every other weekend, or every other day. Doesn’t that seem unfair? That is how the majority of the teenagers of divorced parents feel and all they want is a say as to what goes on between their once happily married, but now divorced parents.
Most teenagers of divorce may feel denial, anger, sadness, fear, blame, and sometimes even acceptance. A teenager’s immediate reaction to their parents’ divorce would be denial or disbelief. They will think that their parents are playing a sick joke on them, when, in reality, they are getting a divorce. Teenagers whose reaction to divorce is anger, often have more problems. They tend to act more rebellious, they change eating and studying habits, and they don’t sleep well, and often make new friends who are a bad influence on the teen. Sadness and blame are normal responses to divorce. Teenagers will be upset about the fact, and try to blame themselves, making it seem like it is their fault, when in reality it has nothing to do with them. Fear, is also a common response to teens that have to now become used to living in two homes, one house with their father and the other house with their mother. Acceptance is a feeling that will be able to work its way into a teen after divorce, and going through a couple of the other stages or feelings. Rebellion will also decrease with the teenager. The teen will not be as disrespectful to others, less troubles with the law, and possibly even better academics. Rebellion is a way for teens to tell their parents that if they don’t get what they think they deserve- where in this instance it is