The Effects of Divorce and Great Books*
Most people believe that divorce is bad for children. A recent study found that this "common wisdom" isn't always true. It all depends on the family situation before the divorce.
If the level of family hostility and discord was high before the divorce, then the children seem to be just as well adjusted and happy as children who grow up in two-parent households.
However, if the children aren't aware of the pre-divorce parental hostility, and the divorce comes as a surprise, then they are more likely to be harmed by the divorce. As these children grow into adulthood, they are more likely to have problems forming relationships and are generally less happy than children who grew up in two-parent families.
Great Books *
*for your children to cope with divorce
My Parents Are Divorced, Too: A Book for Kids by Kids
by Jan Blackstone-Ford and the Ford children, New York, Magination, 1998. (ages 9-12)
Dinosaurs Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families
by Laurene K. Brown and Marc Brown, Boston, Little, Brown and Co., 1986. (ages 3-7)
Strider
by Beverly Cleary, New York, Avon, 1996. (ages 9-12)
Amber Brown Goes Fourth
by Paula Danziger, New York, Putnam, 1995. (ages 8-12)
Chevrolet Saturdays
by Candy Dawson-Boyd, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1993. (ages 9-12)
It's Not Your Fault, Koko Bear
by Vicky Lansky, Berkeley, CA, Book Peddlers, 1998. (age 3-7)
Let's Talk About Divorce
by Fred Rogers, New York, Putnam, 1996. (age 3-7)
Mama and Daddy Bear's Divorce
by Cornelia Spelman, Morton Grove, IL, Albert Whitman, 1998. (ages 3-7)
Divorce Is Not the End of the World
by Zoe, Evan, and Ellen Stern, Berkeley, CA, Tricycle Press, 1997. (ages 12 and up)
When Your Parents Split Up...How to Keep Yourself Together
by Alys Swan-Jackson, New York, Price Stern Sloan, 1998. (ages 9-13)
My Family's Changing
by Pat Thomas, Happauge, NY, Barron's Educational Series, 1999. (ages 3-8)
Blue sky, Butterfly
by Jean van Leeuwen, New York, Dial Books for Young Readers, 1996. (ages 9-12)
Always My Dad
by Sharon D. Wyeth. (age 5-8)
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