Botor, Catherine C.

BEED 4-A / PSED17

Dr. Yolanda P. Bilgera
 Second only to the death of a parent as
the most stressful event in children’s
Divorce lives.
Children exhibit “pre-divorce family
stress” by increased impulsive or
aggressive behavior, and parents show
stress with headaches, fatigue, mood
swings or depression.
Children initial reaction to their
parents’ separation is Traumatic
 No child is happy about divorce.
After divorce, many parents become overworked and
overwhelmed
Children are often neglected or left with less than what
both parents could provide, including emotional and
financial support.
Adjustment to divorce is difficult, and the psychological
effects of divorce on children are often felt well into
adulthood.
 Growing up in divorced home does not mean children cannot live happy
lives.
The age and gender of the children involved seem to have some bearing
on their adjustment
Very young children recover more easily than older ones.
Boys react more intensely than girls to the loss of their fathers from
the home.
The parents’ ability to be caring and available makes a difference, as
does the parents’ relationship with each other and the quality of
children’s relationship with both parents.
Teachers of children whose parents are
going through a divorce can help in
several ways, including:
Researching the effects of divorce
Helping the family get help through support groups
Finding ways to help children talk about their
feelings especially through books about children
through similar stress
Keeping communications open with both parents and
including both parents in all school events and
communication
 Working Parents
• More than two-thirds of all preschool children younger than age 6 have
mothers in the workforce. (Children’s Defense, 2010) and the rate rises.
• The implications for families are considerable. For women, the double roles of
job or career and family nurturer can be overwhelming, creating great conflict
and the stress of chronic fatigue.
• Men are looking at their role in different light; many are learning about
greater involvement in child-rearing and how to adjust to a new financial
provider role.
 For all parents, 3 issues loom
large:
• The concern for quality childcare
• The struggle to provide quality
time with children as a family
unit
• The financial burden
For educators
Working families have special issues.
As more parents are fully occupied with
working during the school day, they are
less available in direct participation in
the classroom
Teachers plan flexible opportunities for
them to become involved in their
children’s education.
 Poverty
There is a striking correlation between poverty and school failure. Children
who start out at a disadvantage to fail farther behind in academic
achievement throughout their school years. Too many of them reach
adulthood unhealthy, illiterate and unemployable. There is a group of
Americans who are more likely to experience limited participation in the
social, political, and economic mainstream of national life.
The Children who are risk for academic
failure are likely to be those who lives
in poverty, members of minority
groups, children with various physical
and mental disabilities, children with
limited English proficiency, children
from single-parent families or children
attending schools with a high
concentration of students who live in
poverty
• In 2010, 22% of American child
lived in poverty, an increase from the
18% in 2002
• In 2010, 33%% of children lived
in families where no parent had full-
time, year-round employment
• A record high of nearly 40 million
people— ½ of them children—
received food stamps
1. First stressful event to children's lives
a. Death
b. Divorce
2. Second stressful event to children’s lives
a. Death
b. Divorce
3. Children initial reaction to their parents’ separation is ________
a. Traumatic
b. Death
4. Growing up in __________ does not mean children cannot live happy lives.
a. Divorced home
b. School
5. After divorce, many parents become ______________________
a. overworked and overwhelmed
b. upset yet fine
6. There is a striking _________ between poverty and school failure
a. Parallel
b. Correlation
7. A record high of nearly 40 million people— ½ of them children—received food
stamps
a. Casey Foundation
b. Children’s Defense Fund
8. The psychological effects of divorce on children are often felt well into ________.
a. Adulthood
b. Childhood
9. For women, the double roles of job or career and family nurturer can be
overwhelming, creating great conflict and the stress of chronic fatigue.
a. True
b. False
10. Men are looking at their role in different light; many are learning about greater
involvement in child-rearing and how to adjust to a new financial provider role.
a. True
b. False
11. Girls react more intensely than boys to the loss of their fathers from the home.
a. True
b. False
12. In 2010, 23% of American child lived in poverty, an increase from the 18% in
2002
a. True
b. False
13. In 2010, 33%% of children lived in families where no parent had full-time, year-
round employment
a. True
b. False
14. Children exhibit “pre-divorce family stress”
a. True
b. False
15. Very young children recover more easily than older ones.
a. True
b. False
16. Do not keep communications open with both parents of the child
a. True
b. False
17. The age and gender of the children involved seem to have some bearing on
their adjustment
a. True
b. False

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18.
19. 3 issues loom large
20.