When and How to Leave a Marriage with Children

Are you wondering how to leave your husband when you have a child or how to leave a marriage with a child?

You’re in a marriage that isn’t working, but you also have kids. So leaving a marriage with children is not an easy decision to make since the decision to leave isn’t exactly black and white. Your friends and family are telling you to “stay together for the kids,” but is that really the right call? Should you try to make the marriage work, or will you and the kids be happier if not stuck in a perpetual fighting match?

And if you decide to call it quits and prefer ending a marriage with kids, who’s to tell you when to leave the marriage and how to leave a marriage peacefully? Maybe you could use a little help on how to leave your husband when you have a child.

Well, it depends on the situation you are in. Leaving a marriage with children cannot be an impulsive decision and more so not an emotional one. And if you take the call on ending it, then how to leave a marriage should be just as important as when to leave the marriage with kids.

The final decision depends on whether you and your spouse both want to work it out and are willing to make it work day in and day out. But if you’re past the point of it working, and if you both just know in your hearts that divorce is the right choice, then who’s to tell you to stay just because you have children? And, who is there to guide you on how to leave your husband when you have a child? Or, when to leave a relationship with a child?

There are many ways to look at it, one being that you want to provide a home with two parents who love their children. But is living a marriage void of love, the best example to your children? Leaving a marriage with children is not easy, but will that be better or worse than the parents living apart from each other?

According to research published by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, children in high-risk marriages often anticipate or accommodate to the dissolution of the marriage.

Many children have been through their parents’ divorce, and have done just fine. They’ve adjusted. The biggest factor in how they do is how the divorce is handled, and then how the parents treat the children following the divorce.

So, if you are wondering how to leave a relationship with a child involved, here are some tips on how to get out of a bad marriage with a child. These tips might help you with your decision about leaving a marriage with children.

After you have decided when to leave a marriage with kids, you then need to move on to the next big step – How to leave a marriage with children.

Here are some tips for leaving a marriage with children, without sabotaging the parent-child bond-

Discuss the main points with the kids together

To help make the transition smooth, it’s important to have a united front; at this point, it may be hard for the two of you to agree, but keep your focus on the kids.

What do they need to hear from both of you right now?

Tell them that you are getting divorced, but that it doesn’t change anything about your love for them. Talk about where mom and dad will live, and that the kids will always have loving homes to go to.

Make sure they know that the divorce has nothing to do with them. Even though leaving a marriage with children is a heavy topic for both you and your kids, try your best to be positive and reassure your children.

Negotiate out of court when possible

You might wonder, ‘can I leave my husband and take my child?’ or something like, ‘if I leave my husband, can I take my child?’

You and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse may not agree on your marriage relationship, but in order to create a smooth transition for the children, you must set those differences aside.

Very calmly and clearly discuss the particulars of what will happen in the divorce, especially with regards to the kids. The more you can decide what’s best out of court, the better.

It may mean a lot of giving and taking, but it’ll be better than the stress and uncertainty of what could happen when a judge gets involved. So, if you have to plan on leaving a marriage with children, it is always better to negotiate out of court.

Utilizing the help of a therapist or counselor during this process would be conducive to the process going smoothly.

Be open with your children

While your children don’t need to know the hard details of your relationship and the divorce, with the things that do affect them, be open. When your children ask you questions, really listen and answer.

Help build their confidence in this new phase of life. Help them know that you will always be there for them, no matter what. Sometimes children have concerns but don’t give voice to them, so create moments where they can feel comfortable talking about things.

Create separate positive environments

When you first start living separately, it will be a difficult change for the children. So try to make this time extra special and as positive as possible.

Your plan on leaving a marriage with children is made. What’s next? You need to mutually create traditions in each household. Make sure to spend lots of quality time with your children.

Support the other parent as much as possible. Meeting up for pick up/drop off, you don’t have to be chatty, but remain calm and positive. Respect the call/text rules you set up so as to keep in contact but not interfere with the other parents’ children time. 

After all, leaving marital home with a child is not an easy decision to make, especially for the child itself. So, you have to make sure that your kid is not deprived of either paternal or maternal care.

Forgive each other

Ending a relationship with kids involved is literally the end of the story. And, one of the worst things you can do after a divorce is, hold a grudge against your spouse indefinitely. It will be like a cloud hanging over everyone; the kids will definitely feel it. They, in turn, may also reflect those same feelings.

If you go searching for advice on matters like, ‘I want to leave my husband, but we have a child’, or something like, ‘I want a divorce but have kids’, most people will suggest you forgive your partner and move on with life. So, before leaving a marriage with children, consider whether it is possible to forget the bad memories, forgive your partner and start afresh.

While divorce is difficult, especially if your ex did something to cause the divorce, forgiveness is possible.

Especially for the kids, it’s important to work on letting go of the hurt and deciding to move forward. This may take some time, but it’s important to work through it and show your children how to handle that difficult situation.

By setting this example for the children it will set the stage for a successful transition onto the next phase of your life, your ex’s life, and your children’s lives in a healthy manner.