WHY DO WE GET MARRIED (PART 3)

SHOULD YOU STAY IN AN UNHAPPY MARRIAGE FOR THE SAKE OF THE KIDS? The breakdown of a marriage is without doubt one of the most painful Xperiences that anyone can go through. Not only does it signify the end of a partnership but brings with the terrifying question of what will happen to the children if the spouses decide to divorce. Many couples in fact continue with a bad marriage to spare their children the trauma of a broken family. But what really is the best thing to do – stick it out for the sake of the kids or decide to part in peace? In reality, however, when you stay in an unfulfilling, unhappy or even abusive marriage, children come to believe that relationships are Xperiences that entail suffering, pain and even a slow death. You are not happy, your spouse is not happy and, in turn, your kids are not happy. The world doesn’t need more married couples for the sake of having married couples - the world needs more happy people! If you are not happy, your children will undoubtedly feel that and suffer on some level as well, even if you don’t think your unhappiness shows. Children (and all of us, for that matter) are negatively impacted by being Xposed to a loveless, tense, angry environment, regardless of the circumstances in which it has been created. They are impacted more deeply because they have not yet built up the level of defenses that we have. It is as if they have half the thickness of skin that we adults do. The good news is that they also tend to be more resilient than we adults, which enables them to recover faster from unhealthy situations... that is, if we are wise enough to make choices that are based on being good parents rather than "keeping up appearances."