Parental separation and divorce: Its effect on our youngest student's lives and development

Children walk into our classrooms from homes that vary from the streets, to shelters, to apartments, and to houses, and the families with whom they share these homes differ as well.  Each child's family structure can significantly direct the path of their life and determine the degree to which they develop socially, emotionally, physically, and academically.  A particular type of family structure that is present in many of our children's lives today is one that is impacted by parental separation and divorce.  I have seen an increase in the number of my own pre-kindergarten students whose parents have chosen to separate or divorce, as well as the level of impact that it has had on their day-to-day interactions and participation in the classroom.  This is precisely the reason as to why I have chosen to learn more about this challenge and the effect that it can have on a child’s life and their earliest stages of development.    

Experiencing my own parent's divorce at the age of seventeen has allowed me to understand how this challenge can effect the life and development of a female teenager.  My own experience has also guided me to understand that parental separation and divorce can effect each child involved in a remarkably different way, depending upon the child's gender and age.  On a personal level, I can relate to my students who are impacted by this challenge to some extent, but my knowledge of how this challenge effects such young children is limited.  Therefore, I am motivated to research this challenge and to share the information that I learn with you.

I welcome any comments or suggestions pertaining to your own experience with working with children who have a family structure that has been impacted by parental separation and divorce.  I have often wondered how this challenge impacts a young child’s ability to focus in the classroom?  For example, if their thoughts are focused on a fight they overheard between their mother and father the night before.  Or how their feelings will be effected throughout holiday celebrations?  For example, on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day.

There are many aspects of a child’s life, both at home and at school, that must be taken into consideration as we learn of the challenges that they face while they are in our care inside our classrooms.  But how do we, as early childhood educators, support these fragile children in a way that makes them feel safe, and more importantly, happy?