THE PROCESS OF divorce is not a quick one. The legal part of divorce begins when one or both parents take steps to end the marriage contract. Usually that means hiring a lawyer who assists them in filing a petition explaining why they want a divorce. This document also explains how they feel the family responsibilities of each parent should be divided. But by the time parents take that step, they have usually found a time to break the news to their children.

Breaking the news

Psychologists say that although announcing the end of the marriage is extremely difficult for parents, receiving that news is even harder for the children. Hearing that parents are divorcing, they say, is only slightly less traumatic for a child than the death of a parent, so it's important that the parents do it right...