Very young children may be unable to put a label on the experience of divorce, but even they realize that something is different and usually react with bodily responses and regressive behavior.
• When parents are anxious, toddlers sense the emotion and frequently become fearful themselves. The most important way you can help your toddler adjust is by keeping life as normal as possible.
• Small children react more strongly to change, but they also make the easiest adjustment, because the memory of intact family life fades faster.
• Young children are strongly affected by day to day care taking; they need reassurance, love, attention, and rituals.
• Realize that sleep problems, which are common anyway, are likely to surface as fears heighten.
• Treat any regression in your toddler as casually as possible. The most recent accomplishment, whether it be in the area of toilet training or general behavior, is likely to be the first to go.
• Young children, because they lack verbal skills, are likely to become increasingly irritable and cranky; they may hit siblings and behave more aggressively. This and many other expected behavior patterns are just temporary, and they will change over time.
Vicki Lansky’s practical, common sense approach to parenting is familiar to millions throughout the world. Vicki’s first book, Feed Me, I’m Yours, published in 1974, and still one of the most popular baby/toddler food cookbooks in the country, was followed by The Taming of the C.A.N.D.Y. Monster, a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her other titles include: Toilet Training, Birthday Parties Best Party Tips & Ideas For Ages 1-8, Dear Babysitter Handbook, Welcoming Your Second Baby, Getting Your Child to Sleep … and Back to Sleep, Trouble-free Travel with Children, Baby Proofing Basics and Games Babies Play From Birth to Twelve Months, Koko Bear’s New Potty, A New Baby at Koko Bear’s House, Koko Bear and the New Babysitter, and Koko Bear’s Big Earache. Vicki Lansky’s Divorce Book for Parents: Helping Children Cope with Divorce and Its Aftermath
