Children rarely escape divorce unscathed

A key plank of Child Maintenance Reform, as debated in the House of Commons today, is the investment of £20 million to support separated parents. The CSJ has repeatedly found family breakdown to be a major driver of povertythat negatively affects children. It is therefore vital thatfamilies receivemuch-needed support before, during and after separation.

We welcome this funding stream which, will place  greater emphasis on mediation and programmes that show parents how and why they can keep their children’s best interests paramount throughout the divorce process. Helping them better manage the fall-out from their relationship split by avoiding using children as pawns and helping them understand the painful process the whole family is going through.

This follows important research published in the academic journal Family Relations, which challenges the widely held notion that as long as parents cooperate during and after a divorce, all will run smoothly for their children.

The analysis of almost 1,000 families found that children suffer when their parents’ marriage ends – no matter how amicable the split. As such, researchers called on marriage counsellors to make greater efforts to save marriages in distress, and reiterated the need to help divorcing parents do all they can to protect their children from the effects of unresolved conflict.

The research team compared the welfare of children whose parents had divorced or separated after a long-term relationship, with those whose marriages were strong. In line with extensive research from the CSJ they found that those from broken homes are more likely to suffer adverse outcomes.