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Advice
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Children's Rights
The UN Convention on the Rights of The Child (1989) says children have the right to be involved in decisions affecting their lives.
Children's rights under the UNCRC (Unicef Website)
Case Studies
To read comments made by young people about their parents' divorce or separation, click on the pictures above.
Introduction
Family breakdown is a major life change which affects children, but research shows that there are ways in which parents can try to reduce this impact and help them adjust.
Children want their voices to be heard within the family. But they also argue for better communication from and between their parents. On many of their priority issues they said that their parents had not talked to them or explained what was happening.
Sometimes they did not want to upset parents by asking. However, there were some matters they did not want to hear about. Do you know what is most important to your child?
Children's advice to parents
Children who rated their parents as 'good communicators' were happier than those who rated them poor communicators. This was also true of children who said their parents managed a good 'working relationship'. Children did not want random information but good communication on key issues. Yet more than half the parents did not talk about when their child would see the non resident parent. Fewer than half the parents explained where the child would live.Teenagers often wanted to be able to renegotiate arrangements made when they were much younger, but feared parents would be upset. View full report.
"Don't tell them stuff that will make them upset."
"They shouldn't be put against one parent."
"I don't want to talk about their sex life and stuff like that."
"Your interests change as you get older, you have more of a social life."
young-voice.org