36
ISSUES: Marriage
Chapter 2: Divorce
Help for children and young adults
I
f your mum and dad are separating
or getting a divorce, you may be
feeling very sad. You may also be
feeling:
Ö
Ö
angry
Ö
Ö
confused
Ö
Ö
worried.
Whatever you are feeling, that’s OK.
Everyone feels different and there is
no right or wrong way to feel.
You may be wondering what will
happen in the future:
Ö
Ö
Where will I live?
Ö
Ö
Will I still see mum and dad?
Ö
Ö
Why can’t they still love each
other?
You will probably have lots of
questions but might not be sure if
it’s okay to talk about your worries to
your mum and dad. If you’d prefer to
someone different, why not contact
ChildLine?
ChildLine is a counselling service for
children and young people. You can
contact ChildLine about anything – no
problem is too big or too small. If you
are feeling scared or out of control or
just want to talk to someone you can
contact ChildLine.
A ChildLine counsellor is someone:
Ö
Ö
Who will believe you and knows it
takes courage to contact them
Ö
Ö
Who you can trust
Ö
Ö
Who won’t judge you or put you
down
Ö
Ö
Who is not easily shocked
Ö
Ö
Who understands the sorts of
problems you might be worried
about
Ö
Ö
Who is trained to help.
You don’t have to give your name or
any details about yourself if you don't
want to.
You can contact ChildLine about
anything, so think about how you feel
and tell them about it. The more you
tell them about what is happening
and how it makes you feel, the more
they can understand and help you.
They might ask you some questions
to try and understand how you are
feeling or to help you talk about it. You
don’t have to answer them if you don’t
want to. You can get back in touch at
anytime, even if you didn’t tell them
anything the first time you contacted
them.
Family separation brings a lot
of changes. There are a number
of websites that will help you to
understand what may happen and
how to cope.
It’s not your fault
This website has lots of useful
information that will help you cope.
Including what you might be feeling,
how to feel better and how your mum
and dad can help you.
Cafcass (Children and Family
Court Advisory and Support)
If your parents are going to court
because they can’t agree on who will
look after you, this website will help
you to understand how things will
work. Cafcass looks after the interests
of children in family courts.
CyberMentors
CyberMentors is all about young
people helping and supporting each
other online. If you’re being bullied,
or are feeling a bit low, or are maybe
troubled by something and you’re not
sure what to do or who to talk to, then
CyberMentors is where you can go for
help. It doesn’t matter how big or small
you think the problem is, or whether
you’re being targeted online or offline,
CyberMentors are here to listen and
support you.
CBBC Newsround
“My parents split up last year, it started
when I was four, I was really scared but
now I am fine with it because I know
it wasn’t my fault and that both my
parents love me.” Views about splitting
up from children themselves.
Ö
Ö
The
above
information
is
reprinted with kind permission
from The Centre for Separated
Families.
Please
visit
www.
separatedfamilies.info for further
information.
© The Centre for
Separated Families 2017
