10 Top Ways to Help Your Child Through Your Separation / Divorce

1. Tell your child the truth about the divorce. Children need simple and honest answers they can understand without making anyone seem wrong or bad.
2. Reassure your child that you both still love him or her and that the decision is not their fault.
3. Children need to be able to love both parents. Do not put your child in a position of having to take sides.
4. Keep your child out of your communication with your ex-partner. Do not ask your child to be a messenger.
5. Honor your parenting agreements. Do not make plans for your child on the other parent's scheduled time.
6. Listen attentively and non-judgmentally to your child's feelings and concerns.
7. Maintain schedules and predictable routines.
8. If your child is having difficulty adjusting, investigate counseling and support groups for children whose parents are no longer together.
9. Allow your child to be a child. Do not burden him or her with financial worries or a sense of responsibility for your well-being
10. Take care of yourself physically and emotionally. Your child needs you!