Children And Families

boy

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For some children, the excitement of starting or going back to school turns to fear at the bus stop or classroom door.

Separation anxiety is a real condition for many children and their parents on the first day of school, says Samuel T. Gladding, professor of counseling at Wake Forest University and author of the book Family Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice (5th Edition) (Merrill Counseling)

Not being well-prepared for the separation makes anxiety worse, Gladding says. He offers parents tips for how to avoid emotional scenes with children clinging tearfully to them when it is time to say goodbye. [continue reading…]

They Are Also More Likely to Struggle with Anxiety, Loneliness, Low Self-Esteem, and Sadness

sad child, socially aloneChildren whose parents get divorced generally don’t experience detrimental setbacks in the pre-divorce period, but often fall behind their peers—and don’t catch up—when it comes to math and interpersonal social skills after their parents begin the divorce process, according to a new study.

In addition, the study, which appears in the June issue of the American Sociological Review, finds that children of divorce are more likely to struggle with anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, and sadness. This increase in “internalizing problem behaviors” also begins during the divorce process and does not dissipate.

“People tend to think that couples go through intense marital conflict before they decide to divorce,” said study author Hyun Sik Kim, a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “My original prediction was that children of divorce would experience negative impacts even before formal divorce processes began. But, my study finds that this is not the case.” [continue reading…]