12 Things Kids Think About Divorce
April 30, 2014
Thank you to my friend Noel Tucker of Oklahoma (who, in addition to being a great lawyer, just finished the Boston Marathon after having been stopped a half mile before the finish in 2013 due to the bombing) for posting an article entitled “12 Things Kids Think About Divorce.”
There is a common myth that kids want their parents to stay together or get back together. In reality, what kids want, more than anything else, is peace. If peace is enhanced by the parties separating or divorcing, then let it happen.
The author of this article either talked to a lot of kids whose parents divorced – or perhaps is the child of divorced parents herself. She understands that children rarely want to pick sides. They don’t care how much child support is being paid.
One child, for whom I was Guardian ad Litem, explained it this way: “I want to be Switzerland.” When I asked him to explain, he said “Switzerland is totally neutral in every war.”
It is for this reason that I have frequently criticized Wisconsin courts for not allowing contingent custody orders or allow enforceable non-modifiable child support orders. Once a child’s basic needs for food and shelter are satisfied, children need peace, not the highest standard of living possible.
This article should be mandatory reading for very Guardian ad Litem – and court in Wisconsin.
