Parents always want what is best for their children, which makes divorce hard for them to work through. After all, the nature of divorce itself means that children will inevitably end up hurt because of it, and there is nothing a parent can do to prevent that.
However, they can make choices that may reduce the impact and overall pain and stress that a child will go through. Even the type of custody parents opt for can have an impact.
A child’s biggest fears
The American Psychological Association discusses the benefits of joint custody. This option often ends up lauded as a good way for parents to provide stability and comfort to their children in an otherwise tumultuous period of time in their lives.
Children often fear change and the disintegration of life as they knew it, along with the unknown future that lies ahead of them. Joint custody can do a lot to assuage those fears, providing children with the reliable system of two parents that they knew for their early life.
Though most joint custody situations involve joint legal custody and not joint physical custody, having both parents involved equitably in a child’s life can still provide them with comfort.
Better coping, less anxiety
Studies show that not only do children in joint custody situations have better coping mechanisms, but they also have fewer reported cases of anxiety or depression. They even have fewer instances of stress or trauma disorders.
Thus, parents who can make joint custody work should consider it as an option. Though it does not suit every family, it can prove enormously beneficial to those families it does work for.
