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Josh, a bright, curious ten year-old, is behaving in ways he never did before. He appears angry, deliberately disobeys, and refuses to listen. Sophie, a normally placid eight-year old, suddenly can't fall asleep at night, and when she finally does, is often awakened by frightening nightmares. She has recently begun begging to sleep in her mom's bed. Twelve-year-old Ben's afternoons used to be spent playing street soccer with his neighborhood pals. |
Now he spends hours hunched over in his room, repetitively playing computer games. Josh's teacher has complained that he is not turning in his homework, and Sophie's teacher reports that Sophie is withdrawn and isolating herself from her classmates. The mothers of these children are worried and upset over their behavior, and they're not sure how to help. But their situations are not atypical. In fact these are situations experienced each year by parents of over one million children in this country. The explanation for Josh and Sophie and Ben's behavior lies in the fact that each one has parents who have recently separated and are getting divorced. |
