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Divorce

Divorce is both an end and a beginning, it is an end of a marriage but a beginning of a new way of life (Lazo 6). To divorce is to "unmarry." It means a permanent separation (Lazo 7). Divorce rates is a significant issue in today's world, it has doubled between 1965 and 1975 and in the 1980s rose to 1.2 million divorces a year (Lazo 12). 60% of Americans will divorce and 1,400 families end in a divorce each year (Roleff). The 1980 US Bureau of the census reported that 90% of children from disrupted families lived with their mothers (Levine 27). Divorce affects the way one think about marriage, they may be overly concerned about choices because one does not want to end up in a divorce (Levine 11).
Divorce provides another chance for self esteem and love. It is better to be happy apart than unhappy together. It is better to give children two happy homes than one unhappy one (Lazo 19). Twelve million children under the age of 18 have divorced parents. And with two and a half million people getting divorced each year, divorce is called "normal" way of life today. No matter which parent leaves, it is the parents that are divorcing each other not the children. Divorce does not change the existing love because even though a parent is far from their children it does not stop them from loving them (Lazo 7).
Stepparents are not always negative, they can provide a good role model, love, and support that young person might not recieved from their biological parent. If the young person is made to feel very much a key part of the new stepfamily and if the parent and stepparent make the child feel included, it can raise the young person's self-esteem. If the divorced parent and stepparent have a close, caring relationship, they show their stepchildren that marriages don't have to be filled with anger, fighting, and betrayal. The children have a healthy role model of a mutually supportive couple. Remarriage can also end the financial stresses of living in a single family home...