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New guide to divorce for children

A new book aims to help young children cope with the emotional turbulence of parental divorce.

Divorce Is The Worst by Anastasia Higginbotham explores the ways in which children experience a separation, the difficulties they face and the implications of their parents going their separate ways. Written for children aimed four to eight, it features vivid collage art, also by the author.

Higginbotham told Publisher’s Weekly that she had drawn on memories of her own parents’ divorce when she was 14 while writing and illustrating the book.

“For years, I have been carrying around this story, and it ended up becoming this book bearing witness to a child’s perspective on divorce.”

She chose collage to illustrate the book because it had seemed appropriate to the topic, the author added.

“I worked with ripped paper and skies cut in two because that’s how my parents’ separation felt to me. I wanted these collages to claim that experience for myself and other kids.”

Children caught up in their parents’ divorce commonly see the experience as one of “pain and loss”, she continued. She hopes her book will help readers to see divorce as a period of transition, “a rite of passage rather than a devastating moment.”

Divorce Is the Worst will be published on April 14.

It is the first in a planned series, to be called Ordinary Terrible Things, each of which will deal with common but potentially upsetting childhood experiences. Book two, Death Is Stupid, is due next spring.

The blog team at Stowe is a group of writers based across our family law offices who share their advice on the wellbeing and emotional aspects of divorce or separation from personal experience. As well as pieces from our family law solicitors, guest contributors also regularly contribute to share their knowledge.

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Comments(2)

  1. Dr Nigel Miles says:

    What an opportunity to support the emotions of children going through such a debacle.

    It is just a shame that some parents use children as ammunition against the other by negative and hostile indoctrination of a once loved parent who is now perceived as an alien from another planet.

    Let it be known that most “aliens” are loving persons who have responsible love for their children irrespective of the other acting in an intractibly heinous and vicious manner, cannot understand parental responsibilities and knowingly destroys the fabric of family life which are children’s fundamental rights enshrined in internal law

    England and Wales Family Courts are a century behind most advanced democracies. ..shame on you…stop hiding behind your own immaturity and act for the children’s common good and best interests.

    Parity of responsible parenting will change the whole nature of family life for the better and children will be sated emotionally and more secure.

  2. Richard Johnson says:

    Many kids don’t want their parents to divorce. Some kids have mixed feelings about it, especially if they know their parents weren’t happy together. Some kids may even feel relieved when parents divorce, especially if there’s been a lot of fighting between parents during the marriage.

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