One of the most gut-wrenching outcomes of any divorce is what happens to
any children involved. They've survived the pre-divorce arguments
that got their parents to divorce court; they had to withstand the turbulence
of instability as their parents fought each other in the court of law;
and now, their future, decided by a judge in a robe. Specific to this
scenario is the decision as to where they'll live.
Phrases like 'Weekend Dad' has dotted the pop culture landscape
over the past 20 years as more and more divorced couples have had to divorce
and split the parentage. Much of the analysis has suggested that children's
manifestations of living in two households, as opposed to a single "stable"
one, have been bad — things like stress, sleeping issues, loss of
appetite and sadness. But a new study out of Sweden has shown this might
not be the case.
Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, a survey
of 150,000 children from 12- to 15-years-old in Sweden, the study showed
children who lived with both of their separated parents showed fewer signs
of stress than the ones who lived with one parent. Why? According to one
therapist, "Children typically do best when they have two loving
parents that are concerned with their well-being,"
For more:
Divorce study suggests children stress less when living at both parents' houses (Northwest Herald)