Thoughts for the Week:

Almost every child is likely to be touched by divorce. Even though a child's own family may be together, he or she may know relatives, friends, or classmates whose families are separated. That can lead to a lot of wondering.

We have developed the programs for this week to help children think about divorce and separation in ways that could make the wondering less frightening. It's especially important that children understand that when grown-up relationships go wrong, children are not to blame. When parents do get a divorce, they still go on being their children's mothers and fathers. And it's also important for children to realize that people who live together are never happy all the time. When parents quarrel, it does not necessarily mean they are going to get a divorce.

Children may have questions this week that they would like to ask caregivers or their parents. It's not easy to talk about divorce, but we need to keep in mind that the reality of such hard things is so often less scary to children than the fantasies they may have about them.