Why Parents Must Address How Divorce Destroys a Child’s Trust

The world won’t forget our mistakes just because we’re too embarrassed to acknowledge them

Image by Walter Rhein

I never had a conversation with my father about how painful it was immediately after the divorce. He was off living his best life with a new girlfriend every week. The rest of us were left to pick up the pieces of a tattered life.

It’s a strange thing to be in a moment like that. You love your parent. So when he comes into the living room and says that he’s leaving, you don’t know how to react. As a child, your family is your whole world. When that’s destroyed, it leaves you feeling disconnected.

There are some relationships that run their course. It’s not unforgiveable to have a divorce. But it is unforgiveable to inflict pain upon your children and then refuse to recognize or talk about that pain because it embarrasses you.

We live in a society that creates man-children instead of men. These are boys walking around in adult bodies who have mistaken narcissism for self-esteem. They force the people around them into subservient roles, and they become petulant over the insufficient adulation they receive.

They believe it’s their right to experience as much personal euphoria as they can, and…