'What If We Lived In Two Houses?' Talking Kids Through Divorce
Life Kit: Parenting
NPR
4.6 • 640 Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2019
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
- Give children as much heads-up as you can — as soon as you've made a definite decision to split up.
- It's a grown-up problem. Don't share details that will confuse your child or hurt your partner.
- Don't fear the big feelings or the "pajama truth-bomb."
- It's good for kids to talk about a separation — even when it may be painful for adults to hear.
- Make sure your kids know that not everything will change.
- Keep routines, and toys, consistent, even if they're traveling from one home to another.
- Look back together on the good memories.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. |
| 0:05.4 | RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right. |
| 0:12.1 | Learn more at RWJF.org. |
| 0:15.7 | Today, the D word. |
| 0:17.6 | Divorce. |
| 0:18.5 | So we were just kind of talking and she was like, well, why don't you just stop fighting? |
| 0:22.3 | I was like, well, like, what if we lived in two houses, but we didn't fight anymore? |
| 0:27.1 | She kind of, like, sat on it for a moment, and then she just started sobbing. |
| 0:36.5 | I'm Corey Turner, an education reporter with NPR and the father of two boys. |
| 0:41.5 | I'm Anya Kamenetz, an education reporter with NPR and the mother of two girls, |
| 0:45.3 | and you're listening to Life Kit for Parents with Sesame Workshop. |
| 0:48.7 | In every show, we're going to tackle a tough question that we face as parents, caregivers, and teachers. |
| 0:54.6 | Like, how do you talk with kids about death or bullying or today, divorce? |
| 1:00.1 | How do you tell kids that their world is about to change forever? |
| 1:04.5 | And then, how do you help them navigate that world? |
| 1:07.1 | We've got some answers and five helpful takeaways when we come back. |
| 1:14.8 | Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. |
| 1:20.2 | RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right. |
| 1:26.9 | Learn more at RWJF.org. |
| 1:34.1 | Before the break, we heard from Jada. She's a high school science teacher outside San Francisco |
| 1:38.6 | and the mother of two young girls. For privacy reasons, we're not going to use their last name. |
| 1:43.8 | When I interviewed Jada, she and her |
... |
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