Preventing Negative Impact On The Kids During Family Troubles

Things happen in life that we can’t predict. Accidents and emergencies are common the whole world round, and even though you try, you can’t keep the kids from experiencing risk and harm in life. 

When that kind of trouble comes into your family life, however, there are things you can do to minimise the impact on them. It’s good for kids to learn about negative events in life, to help them understand the best ways to deal with the emotions that arise from them, but you can prevent fear and anxiety from overwhelming them with tips like these. 

Work the Problem into the Usual Routine

It’s not a good idea to ignore what’s going on and pretend nothing is wrong at all. Kids can sense when you’re putting on a fake smile, especially if you’re far less talkative than you usually are. As such, try to work the problem into your usual routine – in doing so, you normalise what’s happening and make it something you can all work together to combat. 

Kids like to be kept in the loop, and hate not knowing what’s going on or why things have to change. But if the issue at hand is slowly and steadily worked into their usual day to day, it’s much easier to accept and deal with. The same goes for adults as well, so trying this approach might even help you too. 

Keep the Legal Side Smooth

Sometimes we need to talk to a legal expert regarding our family situation. Whether it’s a divorce or an inheritance dispute you need to talk through, keeping the legal side smooth will allow everyone involved to have a general peace of mind over the matter. As such, if you need to get family solicitors involved, get them involved as soon as possible to minimise the disruption this might cause. 

Solicitors can advise you on the best way to talk to your kids about what’s going on, concerning how the family dynamic might be changing, and they’ll also ensure there’s an intermediary in place to help pass healthy and constructive communication back and forth. If you don’t want arguments to happen in front of the kids, this is the best way to keep the chaos out of the house. 

Don’t Dismiss Worries, Even with Comforting Words

If the kids come to you with fears of their own, after seeing or hearing something or noticing that a family member that’s usually around isn’t so much anymore, don’t dismiss their worries in an attempt to comfort them. 

Hear them out, validate what they’re feeling, and then try to comfort them. If we don’t follow this three step process, we can accidentally teach our children that their fears don’t quite matter, and prevent them from being able to express themselves properly during times of crisis. 

‘Bad’ life events are always going to crop up. You can prevent your children from becoming too affected by them by working through tips like those above.