In this excellent blog posting, Terry Gaspard writes about things she believes she owes her children because they’ve endured her divorce.

Her research sheds light on the fact that children of divorce who have an absent and/or distant parent must come to terms with this loss and grieve it so that they can heal and have healthy self-esteem, establish trust in partners, and have successful relationships in adulthood.

Ms. Gaspard believes that all individuals are responsible for their own behavior and happiness. However, children of divorce often live for many years in situations where they are exposed to far too much conflict, stress, and loss. They often navigate living in the two worlds of divorced parents; and sometimes adjust to living with stepparents and stepsiblings.