Mother and father both play an important role in the development of their kids. If one of them is not there, separated or died, then it becomes very hard for single parent to take care of kids in an appropriate manner. On the other hand, if a kid belongs to a high conflicts family then the conflicts often create a big hurdle in his overall development. Many families do not fit under the criteria of an ideal family as they experience a high degree of conflicts. This conflict may occur due to court cases, financial problems, and misunderstandings.
These problems often appear as a big hurdle in emotional and physical development of the child. The child may feel depressed when the arguments between the parents continue. It is a fact that a kid suffers when his parents argue.
How divorces affect kids?
The regular conflicts or argues may affect kid mentally and physically. The research in this matter shows that children whose parents argue more had more problems and may lead to problems like:
- It creates stress in families and ending of a marital relationship, which is stressful for couple and children as well. Stress occurs when couple divorce through litigation. The impact of the stress on children is temporary but it caused by a reduction of parenting capacity and their love for children.
- Conflicts and divorce never has positive points as it effects negatively on children and ends up with the poor relationship between the parents and children. Chronic conflicts between parents may lead to stress, insecurity and agitation in children.
- This is not limited to families in which a divorce occurs as children living in any family with parents who are in high conflict affect more.
Development needs of children of different age groups
0 – 3 years
This is the time when basic trust and relationship develop in the child. The child in his first 18 months needs proper care and love of primary parent. He learn language and need safety and security from his parents. The conflict do not effect more in this age as the kid often go with the primary parent.
3 – 5 years
In this stage, child often and develops better ability to understand language and emotions. This is the time when child join preschools and make friends. The child can identify the sex and can get more attached to his mother. If conflicts occur then he may feel insecure and can affect his mental condition. Both the parents need to make plans and strategies for the child and if conflicts takes place then this become little difficult for the couple.
6 – 12 years
During this stage, a child learns about society and its importance. In this stage, child learns about what is right and wrong and tries to adapt discipline in his life. In this stage, child has different relationship with each parent, which may change frequently.
13 – 17 years
This age is known as an adolescence period in which child need proper privacy and freedom as well. He may self-centered and may not bother about the conflicts of their parents but in some cases child may become depressed and unable to fight with the situation. If a divorce takes place between the parents then this may harm the mental and physical condition of the child. He may not be able to focus on academics and may indulge in practices like drug abuse and other harmful practices.
Summary
Children may react to the family and parental conflicts this may vary child to child. This often depends on the nature, attitude, age, and degree of violence in the family. This can be normal in some cases and can affect the overall development of a child.
