Breaking up is made much more difficult when children are involved. You have to manage being apart sometimes. Here’s how to be closer to your kids when you are going through a breakup.
Travel for Your Job
Often, children are taken away from one partner to another city, state, or country. It’s a difficult time for everyone involved. But you can be stronger and maintain relationships by traveling for your job if it means being closer physically. Travel nurse agencies are great if you are in the medical profession. And being a digital nomad is something you can look into if you often work from home. Or you can ask for a transfer to a closer office if your employer will allow it.
Listen to Their Worries
Just like adults, kids have worries and a hard time going through things. So it’s important to give your child time and attention. Children aren’t always open about how they feel, but that’s a given. But they need to understand that you are interested in the things they have to say and want to know how they are feeling. When a couple is getting a divorce, the kids may feel like they’re on the sidelines. Let them know that no matter what, you will continue to put them first.
Be Closer to Your Kids by Spending Time Together
Family time is crucial no matter the situation because it helps keep bonds stronger. Make time for your family to spend time together doing things like activities or even eating dinner. If you still get along with your partner, that’s great. But if you can’t, be civil for the kids. Keep taking your kids to see their relatives, or plan a day just for you and them. Help them to understand that family time doesn’t stop just because you’re getting a divorce or are separated.
Try Not to Crowd Them
Even though it’s important to make sure your kids still feel like they’re a member of your family, they also need their own space. Let them keep doing the things they like and are interested in. In a very turbulent time in their lives, this gives them a sense of normal life and structure. Remember that you don’t have to be with them all the time. Your kids need to have lives of their own, too, and will happily get on with it by talking to friends and siblings if they have any.
Look After You Emotions
It’s essential that you make sure you don’t let your own feelings show when you are with your kids. Your kids need to feel safe and stable. This means that you shouldn’t say anything bad about your previous partner in their presence also. Even though you might need a place to talk about how you feel about the divorce and your ex-spouse, it’s not a good idea to bring your kids into the mix. Speaking to a professional or people close to you is the best option.
Summary
It’s vital that you maintain ways to be close to your kids when you are going through a divorce or separation. You can travel for work, spend time together and keep your emotions in check.
