Summary: The Importance Of Divorce

Although divorce has become pretty much commonplace in our society, it remains a symbol of failure to many because it breaks a sacred bond exchanged between spouses on their wedding day. Society is still largely ignorant of the underlying reasons for a divorce and is quick to play the "they could have tried harder" card. Sometimes, people simply cannot try any harder. Sometimes, the constant arguing and yelling and crying cannot be mended with sincere apologies. Sometimes, internal family issues cannot be solved with several visits to the local therapist. Sometimes, the alcoholism becomes too much for one person to handle. Even with all of the extreme cases listed previously, divorce is not a couple’s first choice when things start to …show more content…
It is ignorant to say that divorce does not traumatize children, because it does, especially younger children. To paraphrase Reavis High School teacher Mrs. Mendoza: kids grow up believing that their parents were born married, and a divorce brings great stress upon them because it dissipates the sense of normality that they grew accustomed to. Secondly, Robert E. Emery, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, states that “divorce clearly increases the risk that children will suffer from psychological and behavioral problems.” These children are more likely to have anger issues, disobedience and rule violation, and they can even become depressed and anxious (Emery). As horrific as these issues are, a marriage filled with constant fighting would produce the same results, such as the case of the author of i and the Great Divide, Fiona McGlynn. Fiona McGlynn’s parents ended their marriage when she was eleven years old. She recalls that her parents’ fights internalized a relentless sense of always wanting to please people in her at a young age that stayed with her well into adulthood. The concept of “staying together for the kids” does more harm than good in the long run because it forces children to grow up in an unstable home, without any real examples of how a healthy and successful relationship should be like. Some children find themselves lucky enough to have other role models such as aunts and uncles or grandparents, who can also exhibit examples of healthy relationships. But, most children see their parents daily and their other relatives only sporadically, which considerably lessens the amount they learn about maintaining a good relationship with their future spouse. Although children still suffer greatly because of a divorce, they become more resilient (Emery) and are happier in the long run compared to kids