Divorce. It is a word lots of people have grown too familiar with. In our world today, kids go through this more than ever. Everyday students in our own high school go through the obstacles of learning how to deal with the face of separation of parents.

    Kids of all ages are forced to go through the effects of a broken marriage. At times it is freeing, while other times it is tragic for those involved. Often kids are left to deal with the suffering of their parents separation, without their parents seeing the true effects it has on them. Kids tend to keep their emotions in and when it comes to their parents, they do not want to disappoint them. Therefore, they decide to bottle up the pain they are really feeling.

“I don’t’ think parents understand the pain their kids are going through when they are separating because they are probably wrapped up in their own pain from their own divorce,” Cade Campbell (10) said.

    Teens exposed to divorce at a young age are often left with the feeling of guilt, believing that they are the reason their parents are splitting. This frequently leaves them left with ideas that they are unworthy and alone.

    “Kids shouldn’t think they are separating because of them,” Abby Hackney (10) said. “It is going on between them and not you.”

    When a couple goes through separation their kids tend to lose hope in future relationships due to the outcome of their own parents marriage. This leaves teens careful when committing to a relationship due to being fearful to put trust in another person. Giving yourself to another person in terms of a relationship after seeing your parents split is often nerve-racking for kids. It puts them in a vulnerable position and leaves them questioning their faith in another person.

“For future relationships I’m extra cautious with trust because my parents have given me trust issues,” Cameron Higgins (10) said.

    Relationships between separated parents and their kids often drift and tend to fall apart due to the impact of a divorce. Their lives have changed, they are made into something new, and different. Children involved in a divorce have to learn how to live again in a different way. In those times, it is some of the hardest things a child could go through, and especially when moving onto their mature adult life.

    “Not having a mom and dad together had radically changed me and the direction of my life,”  Creed Spenrath (12) said. “I haven’t lost who I am, but things have been very hard. My family is different now, my friends are different now, and everything has changed.”