Your divorce will surely affect relationships not only in your immediate family, but in your extended family as well. The question is how divorce will affect those relationships, for good or ill.
What can you do to make the transition to a different family structure go well, so that relationships throughout the extended family remain as strong as possible?
Grandparents and grandkids
It’s a question that doesn’t only affect you. For one thing, your children may have various levels of attachment with their grandparents and other extended family members, potentially impacting their web of connections profoundly.
Indeed, extended family can have critical roles in a child’s growth and development. Your divorce might jeopardize these connections. However, you could take measures to maintain them, similar to how you can carry on a healthy relationship with your ex. Here are specific methods to preserve your extended family relationships in your divorce:
- Speak to your extended family and ask if they want to stay involved in your child’s life.
- Create a plan with them to be able to connect and bond with your child.
- Include them in meaningful events in your child’s life, such as performances, athletic activities and birthdays.
- Let your child stay in touch with them through phone calls and other means of communication.
- Give your child permission and flexibility when they want to visit their aunts, uncles or grandparents.
- Accept invitations to family gatherings and attend them with your child.
- Keep your ex posted on you and your child’s relationship with their family members.
Additionally, these extended family relationships could help support your child and help them sustain a sense of stability during and after the divorce.
Family connections post-divorce
A divorce ends a marriage, but it does not end the network of human connections in your extended family. Your ex’s family will remain connected to your child after the process. Whether they are role models or playmates, these people could significantly impact your child’s overall well-being.
By maintaining these relationships, you also provide your child with valuable bonds that could support them as they grow into adults.
