When divorce hurts a child

Abstract

Divorce rates in Singapore have been increasing and most cases occur between 5 to 9 years of marriage. Divorce can cause lifelong effects and various adverse impacts on a child. Children’s emotional needs and feelings are often neglected when their parents split. When that happens, these children often face different forms of trauma and emotional instability due to new stressors such as worry, fear and uncertainty. Known to be one of the ACEs, which stands for Adverse Children Experiences, various studies and reports from the Ministry of Social and Family Development have shown that divorce can cause different problems in children, which have lasting impact and affects them through to adulthood. Therefore, the aim of this project is to enable children to process and express their feelings when their parents are divorced, by developing an interactive children storybook as a tool for them to share and navigate their emotions.