Children's involvement in their parents' divorce: implications for practice

Abstract

The paper reports findings from a research study that explored children's experience of divorce. It shows that children experience parental divorce as a crisis in their lives but that they are able to mobilise internal and external resources to regain a new point of balance. In doing so, children demonstrate the degree to which they are active and competent participants in the process of family dissolution. The implications of the data are then considered in relation to engaging with children involved in divorce and in relation to some of the cultural presumptions that might militate against hearing what they have to say about their experiences.

Taking account of the ‘to and fro’ of children’s experiences in family law

“…Views of the child as lacking or incompetent are also not well aligned, with research both in Australia and overseas supporting the idea that involving children in decisions that affect them and taking their views seriously has far reaching benefits for all stakeholders (Butler, Scanlon, Robinson, Douglas & Murch 2002;Cashmore 2003;Smart et al 2001;Smith et al 2003). These benefits include:…”

“…Children attach immense importance to being listened to, and to participating in the decision-making processes that profoundly affect them, with those children who have had some involvement in their residence and contact arrangements also indicating higher degrees of satisfaction with the arrangements subsequently made (Butler et al 2002). Yet, children consistently report their exclusion from discussions about their parents' separation and divorce and the changes that this brings to their lives.…”

Children's Participation in Family Law Proceedings: A Step Too Far or a Step Too Small?

“…Second, children feel that they lack information on what is happening in their particular household, with respect to their own parents' relationships (Brannen et al, 2000;Butler et al, 2000;Dunn and Deater-Deckard, 2001;Smith, 2000). Parents, and particularly mothers, are typically the people in children's lives that they first turn to if they have a problem (Brannen et al, 2000;Buchanan et al, 2001), but this route to information, support and comfort may not be available for children in situations of parental separation or divorce because the parents themselves are typically under emotional stress (Buchanan et al, 2001;Butler et al, 2002).…”

Interviewing children in custody cases: Implications of research and policy for practice

“…It is argued that theories have undervalued the importance of context so critical in cases of disputed custody (James, 2001(James, , 2007. From this viewpoint, children are considered to be the most reliable witnesses of their own experience (Butler, Scanlan, Robinson, Douglas, & Murch, 2002). Many believe children have a right to participate and are entitled to have a say rather than be protected from decision-making (Trinder, 1997).…”