By Allison Schreiber Lee
I have heard the term “broken home” used to describe a household that occurs after a divorce, and that term has always bothered me. Not just because I’m a divorce attorney (and I don’t want to break anyone’s home), and not just because I’m divorced (I don’t want my children’s home to be broken), but because I think it creates a negative light on a situation that may be anything but negative.
Children who grow up in a household where their parents’ relationship was toxic and terrible, are certainly not better off than children who have 2 homes where their parents are happier as a single parent. That’s not to say that being a single parent is always easy, but being part of a marriage that is emotionally draining and unsupportive is difficult as well.
So maybe instead of looking at 2 houses for children as “broken homes” we should instead look at what’s inside each house. Are there parents who co-parent better not being in the same house as the other parent? Are there parents who feel more empowered because they are only responsible to themselves? Are there children who are loved and cared for in their two homes? If so, that sounds like anything but broken to me.
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