Teenagers and Divorce

In teenagers, the line between adult and child is blurred. In some scenarios, a parent may treat a teen more like an adult, and in other situations, more like a child. During a parent’s divorce, teenagers will react differently to the coming household changes than will a younger child. When revealing and dealing with your divorce, it is important to understand the different actions and emotions that your teen may display.

It is recommended that parents take the following steps to ensure that their teenagers deal with divorce in a healthy way:

• Do not use your teenager as your own source of emotional support. Of course, it is important to talk about emotions and feelings, but it is advisable to seek outside emotional support from friends, other family members, or a counselor rather than load your own problems onto your teenager.
• Seek emotional support for your teenager. Your teenager may not want to speak with either you or your ex-spouse about feelings and emotions during this time and may display a wide range of emotions, from anger to depression to ignoring the whole situation. It is important for you to encourage and allow for your teen to maintain existing relationships with friends and family and other trusted adults with whom they can talk about and deal with their problems.
• Speak with your ex-spouse about maintaining similar disciplinary rules in each of your new households for the benefit of your teenager’s emotional well-being. A sudden transfer from a well-disciplined, two-parent household to a split between one parent’s strict environment and the other’s rules-free zone can be harmful to your teen.

Speak with a San Marcos Divorce Lawyer

If you or a loved one is involved in family law litigation or a divorce case with child support, custody, or visitation issues, and need legal representation, don’t hesitate to contact the Fischer & Van Thiel Family Law Firm of San Marcos at (760) 757-6854 today to get solid legal advice and a professional divorce lawyer consultation.