Divorce is distracting for children, and it can be emotionally difficult. This pulls their attention away from their studies, and that’s one reason that they tend to do a bit worse in school when their parents split up. Other children with more stable homes live simply, have fewer things to think about, and can focus on school more of the time.
This does not mean you can’t get divorced while your child is in school. Long term, you and your children may be happier and healthier after the split, especially in cases of emotional or physical abuse.
However, you do want to consider the impact of the divorce case on your child’s short-term performance in school. Some things you can do to reduce the impact include:
- Being honest and talking to the kids to help them through.
- Trying to keep the daily routine as close as possible to what the children got used to before the divorce.
- Not allowing the children to become overly involved in the conflict.
- Working to reduce their stress, specifically by looking for red flags that they may not be coping well or may feel overwhelmed by the whole thing.
When you have this mindset, you can put your children first and you can also put them in the best possible position to succeed. That should be your goal with every aspect of the divorce. The children always have to come first. When you treat them this way, you allow them to adjust well to the change.
At the same time, make sure you know all of the legal options you have and how they may impact the children.