Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to provide research for the reader to better understand how divorce can significantly impact children. Divorce can be a huge devastation to children because they are still growing and learning to manage relationships. It often takes some time for a child to process what has happened and to fully absorb the situation.  During this time of turmoil, emotional stress plays a huge role in the child’s future outlook. Children will often go through the stages of loss and grief in response to divorce, and they often respond according to their age and maturity at the time of the divorce. They are unable to process such an event as adults do. Children are often several months or even years behind an adult in the grieving process. This research paper will discuss the affects both emotionally and behaviorally, along with how a divorce can impact a child’s relationship with parents, siblings and future relationships. 

The Impact of Divorce on Children
Divorce can be an extremely difficult experience for both children and parents. It introduces a massive change creating a challenging new family circumstance in which to live. There are about one million children each year that experience their parent’s divorcing prior to the age of 18 (Clarke-Stewart, A., & Brentano, C., 2007). Children at any age witness a loss of love between parents, a breakage of parental marriage commitment, an adjustment to going back and forth between two different households, and a daily absence of one parent while living with the other (Pickhardt, C. E., 2011). Fernchild states that children are not emotionally mature when parents are going through a divorce. A divorce destabilizes their personal support during a time of constant personal changes (Fernchild, D.P., 2013). Emotional costs can include embarrassment, fear of abandonment, grief, and worry about their parent’s well-being. Many times children feel sad, and almo...