EXPLAINING DIVORCE TO CHILDREN

by Earl A.--Ed. Grollman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 1969

The purpose of this symposium on various and recent findings, mainly concerning the effects of divorce on children, is, according to Editor Grollman, to aid those in the throes of a souring marriage to think through the problems of ""family disintegration."" Five specialists in the fields of psychology, sociology, law, three clergyman, and the Executive Director of ""Parents Without Partners"" pursue their stodgy-to-stimulating insights. Perhaps the most poignant and revealing section, however, is that prepared by Stanley H. Cath in which the case history of an unusually precocious child and his sensitive mother illuminates the rocky path of a child of divorce and suggests methods of approach. Dr. Graham's conclusions are perhaps the most startling: place children with whichever parent is remarried unless there is a marked incompatibility; do not give children under twelve the choice regarding the parent with whom they are to live. (This would seem to go against the grain of popular practice.) The experts do not agree on some matters, and the orthodox views of priest and rabbi present a very different dimension. The book concludes with interviews of teen-aged children of divorce, not particularly relevant since most of the material here deals with younger children, and one suspects that the teen-age memory of earlier events is highly colored by adolescent turbulence. Nonetheless this is a wide-ranging attempt to open up the many areas of a contemporary concern and may encourage individuals to gain a perspective on divorce.

Pub Date: May 5, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Beacon

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION