Effects of custody disputes on children

Custody dispute (Vårdnadstvist) is never an easy process. The whole stress and emotional problems it causes everybody is nothing to write home about. Sometimes it can get so intense that we forget that the child is also affected by this issue. The end of a marriage through divorce can be an emotionally trying experience for the two adults. Child custody usually follows when there are children involved. Many divorcing parents each want custody of their children for understandable reasons. In some cases, child custody laws are complicated or complex, and there is not always a clear-cut solution for sharing custody of children between the two parents. A Custody dispute (Vårdnadstvist) becomes more complicated when one or both of the parents believe strongly that the other parent is not fit in some way to care for the children. These are some of the more common effects that a child custody dispute can have on children. I believe everyone should have an idea of the following before going into a heated custody dispute case with your spouse.

Intense confusion
During a child custody dispute, children get to hear all sort of bad things about their parents usually directly or just merely over hearing. For example, you may be speaking to your family lawyers on the phone, and a child may overhear you cite specific concerns about the other parent’s ability to properly care for the children. Many children understandably feel intense confusion and stress related to this type of situation. This is because they obviously want to stay with both their parents and not have to choose between them regardless of whatever bad things they may have heard in the course of the dispute.

Extreme sadness
This is another effect that child custody dispute has on the children. It’s a really sad thing watching your parents who you thought would stay in love for a long time go through a divorce. It leaves an empty hole in the hearts of these kids knowing that things won’t remain the same again. Sometimes, they end up not believing in love. After all, their parents they thought was in love or used to be in love got divorced. What else could love possibly offer? It can also have post traumatic cause on these kids. Sometimes they require a therapist to help them go through things one step at a time.

Development risk
The development risks that your children face during a divorce may be related to the length of the custody battle and how emotionally charged it is. The risks may also be impacted by the age of your children. For example, younger children who do not understand what is going on may feel insecure and even fearful about their future, and this could cause issues with emotional development, communication development and more. Older children may have identity issues or may even fall into the wrong crowd in a rebellious streak. It can get very terrible, watching your child grow into something else just because of the fact that you and your spouse is having terrible divorce issues.