STRESS - After a divorce you often are overwhelmed with so many thoughts in your head of what’s going to happen? Where will you live? Who will you live with? And other questions a kid should never have to think about at all. The unsettled questions often lead the kids to stress because of their unhappy parents, court issues, and how their future will turn out and it can affect their school work performance if it’s on their mind.

SCHOOL PERFORMANCE - If a kid is stressing out about what’s going on in their home life then it can lead them to ponder off into their thoughts while being taught a lesson or taking a test and then they end up not finishing work or even not knowing what’s going on in class. If they can’t focus then they fall behind and grades slip and it’s sad to see that happen all because of a parent’s situation. 

EMOTIONS - Every kid is different so their emotions may vary. Kids can be overwhelmed, shocked, confused, terrified, ashamed/ embarrassed, angry, upset/depressed, unloved, rejected, distracted, exhausted, longing, or having to deal with an abusing parent. Also one that’s personal to me is it’s hard to believe when people say “trust in god he has a bigger plan” or “everything will be okay” because after a long time some things don’t get better, and they could get harder for some people. But everyone’s situation is different so all kids have different emotions.

PERSONAL LIVES - The kids life changes drastically in a matter of seconds when the papers are signed. They might not look like they are affected but that’s only because we naturally put up walls of denial and silence and keep a certain distance between us and others. Yet, these techniques, in the end, fail us every time. Kids go through so many different things whether it’s moving in with family or moving away, not having enough money to have food, clothes, or even play sports anymore can affect kids on a personal level because some of their classmates friends look like they have perfect lives and we often compare our lives to those kids who do seem to have a perfect life but you never really know what’s going on, they might have the same problems as you and you don’t even know it.

CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR - This topic hits home because my sibling shortly developed ADHD after my parents divorce but children from divorced families may experience more externalizing problems, such as conduct disorders, delinquency, and impulsive behavior than kids from two-parent families. These kids suffer from this and it’s all because of their parent’s unhappiness and it’s really sad that they have to go through that when it’s a choice the parent makes for their kid. Divorce may trigger an adjustment disorder in children that resolves within a few months. But, studies have also found depression and anxiety rates are higher in children from divorced parents (Morin 1) ,fact from verywellfamily.com/psychological-effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170 .Which means that parents who say their kids are “just fine” after a divorce are definitely wrong because it affects all kids of all ages, it still affects me and it’s been 6 years since my parents got divorced.