Time-sharing and post-divorce family living isn’t as easy as it looks on paper. Once you and your ex-spouse complete the process of divorce and separate households, you may see and welcome this as a ‘fresh start’. However your children may experience a longer post-divorce adjustment period and they may continue to feel a roller coaster of emotions as a result of the change.
When this happens, even the most amicable of co-parenting arrangements can prove stressful.
Many, if not most, children have a difficult time comprehending and adapting to new life circumstances. Different living arrangements and unknown things, places and people can be unsettling to a child. There may be a new step-parent or partner in one (or both) households, the change in neighborhood and daily routine can lead a child to withdraw, throw tantrums, cry and act out in anger without cause. In essence, kids frequently respond to post-divorce change with feelings rather than reason.