Your children still go to elementary school, and they have a year left at this particular school. You want to get a divorce, but you also want to make the divorce as easy as possible for your kids. On one hand, they’re young enough that switching schools won’t be a major change, but on the other, you could allow them to ride out the last year with their friends before moving to a new community and middle school.
Which is better for your children? Should you get a divorce during the upcoming school year or wait until your children are done with elementary school?
Divorce can have a negative impact on your children
It’s possible for a divorce to have a negative impact on your kids, which is something you have to keep in mind. Depending on how you handle the situation, your children may feel:
- Worried that they caused the problems leading to the divorce.
- Abandoned or alone as they try to navigate issues like telling friends about the divorce and move.
- Angry that you want to move or change their routine.
These and other feelings are all normal during a divorce, but you, as a parent, need to consider how to minimize them.
For example, if you tell your child that you’re getting a divorce and that you’ll all be moving in the next few weeks, that’s very little time for them to adjust to the idea of not only a major change in the family unit but also a large move.
It is helpful for you to sit down and discuss one issue at a time. Then, think about the move. You may find that it’s better to move your child after the school year has ended, so they aren’t thrown into a new class as a new student mid-semester or don’t have to say goodbye to friends before getting to do end-of-year events with them.
It’s normally a good idea to move when your child will have time to adjust, which is why many parents do so over the summer vacation. If that won’t work for you, consider times like long school breaks or long weekends, the beginning of a new semester or the start of a new 9-week period.