Kids less stressed with shared custody

After a divorce, your child has to go through changes since your family structure is being altered. Now, your child may have to travel to see your ex-spouse or you may have sole custody and your ex may only have visitation. While every situation is different, studies have been performed to find out what kind of situation is less harmful to a child’s psychology.

What has been found goes against the idea that splitting time between parents could be stressful due to the travel and fact that the children are constantly in different environments. In fact, children who got to see both parents in a shared custody situation were less stressed than those who saw only one parent in a sole-custody relationship.

Children in typical nuclear families were the least stressed of all, but if that’s not possible, then shared custody can be one way of reducing the stress and anxiety your child has to go through. Consider the reasons behind this; your child has always grown up with two parents, two sides of the family, grandparents, aunts and uncles. If you cut off visitation with one side of the family, your child has suddenly lost half of the support system that has been built up over the years, causing anxiety and other psychosomatic problems.

Girls are most prone to these issues, and the most common problem was sadness. Overall, children who were stressed in these living situations faced sleep problems most commonly. While not all families can adjust to the shared custody situation, this research does back the fact that it can be beneficial overall.

Source: Time, “This Divorce Arrangement Stresses Kids Out Most,” Mandy Oaklander, April. 27, 2015

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