Ending a marriage is rarely easy. After all, even if you and your spouse agree divorce is the right course of action, you are apt to face a variety of emotions. Your children may also have a hard time coping with the end of your marriage.
While many divorcing spouses choose to take the end of their marriages to court, others choose a friendly path. With a collaborative divorce, you and your spouse work together to wrap up the marriage. Here are four ways this type of divorce may benefit your children:
1. Modeling appropriate behavior
You have probably worked diligently to teach your children how to behave properly. Still, kids often pick up on the most admirable and least admirable traits of their parents. Because a litigated divorce can bring out the worst in anyone, opting for a collaborative alternative may help you model appropriate behavior.
2. Ensuring financial stability
While any type of divorce may make you question your financial future, divorce litigation may harm your financial present. Because collaborative divorce is often significantly less expensive than a protracted court battle, you may have more money to spend on things the children need and want.
3. Minimizing by-proxy anxiety
Divorce litigation is rarely speedy. On the contrary, divorcing spouses typically spend months or longer attending meetings, hearings and other obligations. Naturally, these events can be tremendously stressful. Even if you try to check your anxiety at the door, your kids are apt to pick up on it. They, in turn, may become anxious.
4. Creating a bridge
Most children have a limited view of the world. That is, they know little about life outside of the home, family, school and immediate community. While any divorce may represent a broadening of a child’s worldview, the transition need not be either abrupt or traumatizing.
Clearly, ending a marriage through a collaborative divorce is not right for every couple. Nonetheless, if you choose to go this route, you may realize some immediate benefits. Even better, you may help your children navigate the matter in a beneficial way.
