Book Mom Megan Lord

BOOK MOM

A little bit of everything from a scatter-brained, book-loving Mom.

ABOUT THE COLUMNIST

I am the mother of an adventurous and exhausting but amazing toddler boy that runs my life. I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading mind numbing children’s books over and over again because he has his select favorites… But when I do get time to read (or listen) I love reading and listening to a variety of genres. I get the most time to indulge in books of my choice during what I like to call “wind-down baths” once a week.

BOOKS TO EXPLAIN SEPARATION AND DIVORCE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.

BY MEGAN LORD

Because Sometimes Families Change..

It’s become a fairly common thing for families to be split - but it doesn’t make it less confusing for young children as it’s happening. I’m not a fan of the term “broken home”. Just because parents are separated doesn’t mean the relationships or homes for the children have to be “broken”. Co-Parenting in a healthy manner is very doable. The hardest part is getting the young children to understand what is going on, and helping them to adjust. These are a couple books I’ve found that seem to help explain and encourage interaction and conversation with young children going through the adjustment period of their parents splitting up.

Dinosaurs Divorce A Guide for Changing Families

By: Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown

Synopsis: A comprehensive, sensitive guide for changing families,

Dinosaurs Divorce helps readers understand what divorce means, why it happens, and how to best cope with everyone’s feelings.

This book allows the child to relate to different parts but also not be thrown off by the unrelatable parts since it is a family of dinosaurs. You don’t have to worry that your child will not relate if the family is not exactly like theirs because it’s just a generally fabricated story of a dino family and separation/divorce. It explains the step by step process and what causes change and what the outcomes may be. It also helps explain emotions they may have and answers some of the more difficult questions. This book is my main recommendation when it comes to helping your child through the big change.

My Family’s Changing A First Look at Family Break-Up

By: Pat Thomas Synopsis: This delightful picture book explores the issue of divorce in reassuringly simple terms. Children’s fears, worries, and questions about this difficult experience are made accessible and approachable.

Written by psychotherapist and counselor Pat Thomas, this book promotes interaction among children, parents and teachers on an issue that affects many families.

This book is also great for helping your young child through this confusing time. Pat Thomas does a good job of asking the right questions to get your child expressing their emotions and asking questions they may have. It also makes sure your child knows that it is not their fault and both parents still love them equally. There is a full glossary to help the child understand new terms they may here, and it has interactive cues on nearly every other page.

If you’ve been following my column you know I am very big on using books to help explain difficult and challenging times for children from grief, to adding siblings to the mix, and everything in between. Split families, separation and divorce is one of those challenging topics and these books are definitely good go-to tools if you find yourself in need. 