Divorce impacts children more than parents realise

The busiest time of year for couples to file for divorce is just after the Christmas period with 6 January being dubbed 'D Day.' With this in mind, Netmums conducted a survey looking into how divorce affects children. The survey revealed that there were a few discrepancies between how children are affected and how much parents are aware of this.

Of the separated couples surveyed, 77 per cent think their children coped well with it but only 18 per cent of children said they are happy their parents are no longer together.

Over a third of the children asked claimed warring parents tried to turn them against the other - but only eight per cent of mums and dads admit to it. One in five youngsters drank and one in nine self-harmed to cope, but worryingly just one per cent of parents knew about this.

Netmums' founder, Siobhan Freegard, says: 'Divorce may be a little word but it has a huge effect. It's estimated that one in three children see their parents separate before the age of 16. While experts acknowledge it is better to come from a broken family than live in one, this research shows not enough is being done to support youngsters through the break-up process.

'While divorce may be the best thing for many families, we have to ensure children are helped to understand the split isn't their fault and that they are still loved. To flourish, children need security and while we will never see a society free from break ups, we should be investing more time, more care and more money into making sure our youngsters have all the support they need to get through this difficult time.'