Divorcing New York parents like you have a lot of ground to cover before the split. A lot of your hardest decisions will likely center around your child, too. You need to determine the custody situation. You must decide what the visitation schedule will look like. You need to figure out matters of child support.
On top of that, you need to decide how you will tell your child this. Is there a good way to go about breaking the news? Will anything help lessen the pain of divorce?
Tailor your approach to your child
Psychology Today points out that there are many ways to tell your child about divorce. Experts suggest gathering information from loved ones who have gone through divorce. They suggest reading articles about handling divorce. From there, you can pick and choose what methods you think work best for you. Tailor it based on your child’s age, personality and maturity level. After all, solutions are not one size fits all. You need to work with your child as an individual.
Give the information they need
Next, be as honest as possible. You should talk with your co-parent before your child so you are both on the same page. Decide what you want to discuss and what you want to keep to yourselves. But one thing you should share is how your child’s life will look after finalizing divorce. Which parent will move out? How will they spend their holidays? What does the visitation schedule look like? The more they know, the less scary it will be.
After removing some of the fear of the unknown, follow it up by ensuring your child that this divorce is not due to them. It is an adult matter, decided between you and your co-parent.