The (Sometimes) Surprising Benefits of Divorce for Parent-Child Relationships

We've said before that a general presumption exists whereby intact families are always better for kids than families of divorce. There are understandable reasons for this widespread view. Divorce often accompanies a range of challenges and problems, including a drop in living standards, the disruption of existing family rhythms and the presence, in all too many cases, of high conflict between the parents, putting a terrible burden on the children.

But as we've already made clear in previous articles, we do not believe that divorce is as uniformly a negative event as it is typically portrayed. In fact, we believe, focusing specifically on the relationship between parents and children, divorce can sometimes yield surprising benefits to parent-child relationships. So that nobody misunderstands us, we're NOT encouraging people to get divorced as a means of strengthening your relationship with your child. But based on our own experiences and those of other people we know, a felicitous if unintended consequence of divorce might be a deeper connection with your children.

via Jonathan Weiler: The (Sometimes) Surprising Benefits of Divorce for Parent-Child Relationships.