Children should not under any circumstance be kept away from their parents. In the event of a divorce or a separation, a parent should be allowed to pay visits to the child over the course of the week. This enables the parent child relationship to be maintained as well as strengthened. When a child is separated from a parent there are certain negative effects that may take place on the child’s welfare.
In most cases, the child tends to suffer from emotional disorders. These are normally a result of environmental factors such as being shifted to another home far away from the parent. Most of the disorders are caused by the experiences or relationships these children have with their parents (Friedes, 2007, p. 7).
These changes in emotional behaviors result to emotional disorders according to Drew and Gelfand are categorized as follows, Phobias , anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, behavior and conduct disorder among others (2003, p. 157). One of the most common emotional disorders experienced in children is Enuresis. This is basically the failure of a child to prevent urination during their sleep time.
Instead of this child responding to the urination urgency by going to the lavatory, he or she just lets it go. In most cases it can be noted when a child who has not been bed wetting but goes back to it. Usually, this is an outcome of psychological stress which is due to the separation from the parent amongst other reasons (Frieden, 2007, p. 144).
A child who is separated from his or her parents may become angry which in the long run culminates to aggression against parents, siblings and animals among others. This child more often than not turns out to be very destructive. Sometimes the remaining parent may experience physical abuse from the child.
When this happens, it shows that the child has a strong feeling that he or she has been victimized. As a result they end up dismantling things in the house for instance breaking utensils and destroying some of their siblings’ belongings (Herbeit & Webster, 1994, p.45).
Children are likely to suffer from mental stress which if goes unchecked for long while will add up to depression and mania (Frieden, 2007, p. 148.).These are emotional disorders that really do affect the well-being and development of a child.
They are commonly associated with being sad, low and unhappy. Other symptoms of depression include vegetative preferences which include a declining appetite and energy as well. More so, these children continuously express pessimistic thoughts. According to researchers, a long duration of depression in children translates to a deep interference in the cognitive as well as the social developments (Grace, 2010).
The separation of a child from his parents also leads to a lot of anxiety. No doubt there are instances when anxiety is a good thing. Unfortunately when experienced in severity can bring about anxiety disorders. A child for instance who has been separated from one of the parents due to divorce, is more likely to shy away from playing with the rest of the children because more often than not he might be made fun of.
This in the long run is known as social anxiety disorder or social phobia. This is mainly experienced when a child gets fearful any social setting: whether people know him or not (Andrews & Foa , 2006, p.13).
References
Andrews,W.L.& Foa. E. (2006). If your adolescent has an anxiety disorder. Oxford: Oxford University press.
Drew,J.C & Gelfand.M.D. (2003). Understanding child behavior disorders (4th ed.). New York: Thomson Learning Inc.
Friedes,D .(2007). Developmental disorders: A neuropsychological Approach. Oxford Blackwell Publishing.
Grace, E. (2010). Emotional Development in children. Web.
Herbeit, M & Webster- Stratton, C. (1994). Troubled families: Problem children. Oxford: John willey & Sons Ltd.