When parents get divorced, studies have found that children’s academic scores tend to drop. Their test scores decline while their parents are going through the divorce itself. This effect can also last beyond the divorce, and there is an overall lower level of education among children with divorced parents.
If you’re getting divorced and you want to avoid this type of negative impact on your own children, you need to ask yourself why it happens. What is it about divorce that causes kids to do less well in school?
Lower aspirations
One thing to consider is that lower educational aspirations among children were reported during the divorce itself. This is probably due to the fact that they felt a disruption in their normal lives and they were so focused on the divorce that they didn’t focus nearly as much on school. They may have felt that their academic scores didn’t matter as much considering the changes in their everyday life.
But a big thing to consider is that children may just feel that their parents aren’t as involved after the divorce. They may not get the same level of guidance and support when it comes to academics.
As a parent, what you want to do is focus on giving them that support, no matter what’s happening with the divorce case. Stability in your child custody plan is a must. Both you and your co-parent should focus on creating a supportive, stable living situation for the kids, regardless of how the two of you feel about each other.
This is just one way that you can put your children first as you go through a divorce. Make sure that you fully understand all the steps you should take.