Divorce: An all too often tragedy

With the divorce rate climbing higher each year, more kids are dealing with things they never thought possible. Divorce is defined as a judicial declaration dissolving marriage in whole or in part. Most people do not realize that it also dissolves a part of the child’s life too. Now, instead of waking up to two parents and getting to see them both, a kid might have to travel across town just to see their father or mother. In some other cases the child might have to travel a few states away or even across the country. Children of divorcees should not have to deal with their parents’ mistakes and suffer from the consequences; therefore the future parents should do everything in their willpower to make completely sure that they want to stay with their partner for the rest of their life.

It is to be assumed that divorce affects the kids directly sometimes even harshly. At a young age for a child it would be hard to understand what is going on. They may not fully comprehend the situation for a couple more years, but as time progresses they feel the devastation of a divorce. Only being able to see their own father or mother on weekends, every other week, or even as sporadic as three or four times a year, a child might develop emotional problems. Children who have divorced parents are seven more times likely to suffer from depression later on in their adult life, than children with parents who did not divorce. Also, three-fourths of the children or teenagers in chemical-dependency hospitals are from a family in which there is only one parent. Sixty-three percent of people who commit suicide are from a divorced family. With all of the previous statistics, it is not hard to see how much children are affected by their parents divorce. Although there are some exceptions in which the divorce is what is best for the children and the spouse, it is not the parents, but the children who really suffer. (“A Generation”)

When one thinks about the institution of marriage, much thought and preparation should go into choosing a spouse. A wife or husband is not a short-lived fling but a life long partner. Infatuation with one another is not the same as eternity lasting love. If more couples put extra thought into whom they were marrying, the future offspring would not have to go through the devastation of having their parents divorce. Even if the couple decided not to have children and get married, there is always the possibility of getting pregnant, they should still be sure they want to be with each other for life. Some excuses for divorce say that the spouse has changed, humans were made to adapt to changes. If one really loved the other, they would somehow try to work things out and communicate to the other person, if not for themselves, then for the sake of their children. Love is not something that lasts for a few months and then dissolves, it lasts a lifetime. The future children of couples speeding into marriage should not have to suffer for the parents’ mistakes made before they were conceived. Kids should not have to choose one parent over the other, when all they really want and need is both.

When thinking of marrying someone, the question one would ask oneself is “Am I willing to spend the rest of my life with this person?” If the answer is no, then they should be able to determine that if they are not willing to spend their life with them, marriage is simple not an option. As a result of more and more couples finding the perfect person to spend their life with, more children will have happy homes. Instead of broken and abandoned feelings, the child will feel warmth and strength in having both parents as a stronghold. If more couples stayed together instead of divorcing, fewer children would suffer from anxiety and depression and even less would commit suicide each year. When parents make the final decision to divorce, most do not realize the things their own children will have to deal with, and most would never want their children to deal with it.



Works Cited

"A Generation At Risk." Rainbows. 5 Apr. 2008 .