You may have noticed that we are now offering advertising space on I Am A Child of Divorce. As this marks a change in how we have done things in this past, it seemed appropriate to take a second to explain why we are now offering advertising space on the site.
Why Advertising?
I Am A Child of Divorce is a labor of love. No one associated with the site is paid for their work on the site. All time and resources to this point have been donated to the site in order to keep it up and running. As the site has grown, more resources are required to keep it running smoothly. Particularly as our support groups grow, we will need bigger and faster servers in order to run those groups. The advertisements on this site will help to subsidize those expenses.
What types of advertising?
Honestly, we are not sure who will request to advertise on this site. We will take steps to ensure, however, that no products which support divorce itself advertise on the site. You won’t see adds for lawyers, etc. It is possible that people who seek to make the process easier for children of divorce or single parents might advertise on the site. We believe that this is consistent with our mission and will consider these on a case by case basis. We love our advertisers because they will help to ensure the continuity of I Am A Child of Divorce. However, we believe that our first responsibility lies with the users of this site, and we will keep that in mind in approving advertisers.
Registration is now open for our online teen support group scheduled to begin in early August 2013.
This 16 week course is conducted entirely online with the help of a facilitator who review materials and coordinates the weekly online chat sessions. Each week, we will tackle one are of interest to teens whose parents have separated or divorced. This new program is entirely free and is designed to help teens find hope and healing as they navigate the complexity of their changing family. We will cover topics including:
Sharing Your Story
The Basics of Divorce
Drowning In Emotions
What Is Grief?
Dealing With Anger
Feelings of Guilt
Overwhelmed By Stress
They’re Still Your Parents
All About Change
Stuff I Hate
Siblings and Responsibilities
Avoiding Destructive Behaviors
Money! Money! Money!
The Rest of My Life
God and Divorce
Moving Forward
For more information on our groups, please visit our Groups Page where you will find a link to Register, a video with information about the program and a flier you can use to help us promote the group. You can also find a link to the complete schedule for the August class on that page. Make sure you register today as spaces are limited and are available on a first come first serve basis.
Welcome to our new little corner of the internet. Before we jump right in, it seemed appropriate to take a minute to introduce ourselves and this site.
Why did you start I Am A Child of Divorce?
I Am A Child of Divorce was born out of a desire to help children deal with the issue and circumstances raised by the divorce of their parents. At a local level, this help can take many forms:
Unfortunately, in our experience in dealing with these children of divorce, many of them have no one in their lives to help them to navigate the stormy waters of their parents’ divorce. That is where I Am A Child of Divorce comes in. Our goal is to build a community of children of divorce and people who care about them to help kids who do not have access to a program or caring adults or who just need additional information or someone to talk to.
What’s up with the name?
One thing that we’ve heard over and over in talking to children of divorce, particularly grown children of divorce, is that they do not want to be defined by the choices of their parents. So, why then would we choose a name like “I Am A Child of Divorce” for this website? Aren’t we doing exactly what we’ve been told – defining kids by the divorce of their parents? We don’t think so. “I Am A Child of Divorce” is a proclamation – not of identity but of hope.
It is a way of saying, yes I Am A Child of Divorce, and yes that has shaped my life in ways that most people can not even begin to understand. But, I will not be defined by a decision made by my parents. By proclaiming the “I Am A Child of Divorce,” I am acknowledging the truth of that statement and the impact it has had on my life while at the same time proclaiming that who I am is so much more than that.
What is the mission of I Am A Child of Divorce?
Our mission at I Am A Child of Divorce is anchored by three “H” words – Help, Hope and Heal. It reads:
To help children of divorce to deal with the effects and consequences of their parents’ divorce by providing hope and healing through a community of committed individuals and other valuable resources.
Who should use this website?
Anyone who desires information of the how to help children adjust to the divorce of their parents is welcome on this site.
First and foremost, this site is for children of divorce. That includes children of any age, teenagers and adult children of divorce. We also include in our definition of children of divorce any children from single parent homes whether their parents were ever officially married or not. Ultimately, our goal is to help you, and you are the reason we exist.
Additionally, in order to build the type of community we are seeking, we need people with a heart for children and people experienced at helping children deal with the issues of divorce.
Parents are also welcome on this site and in the forums. We applaud your efforts to make this difficult time for your child as easy as possible, and we believe this site may provide you with valuable insight into what your child is going through. However, please keep in mind that this is a child-centered resource, and we moderate the forums and Facebook page as such. So, discussions about how to help children adjust to a blended family and how to co-parent effectively are welcome. Bashing your ex or discussing adult issues like how to get more child support are outside the scope of this project.
Who is behind I Am A Child of Divorce?
This site was create by Wayne Stocks. Wayne is not a child of divorce, but he has worked with kids for years and has dedicated his life to helping current and future children of divorce. You can find out more about Wayne at his personal blog (Dad in the Middle) and his blog dedicated to equipping others to help children of divorce (Divorce Ministry 4 Kids). You can reach Wayne by e-mail at wayne@iamachildofdivorce.com.
What are your plans for the site?
We have big plans for this site primarily focused on two main elements.
We want to build dynamic forums which will bring together children of divorce with others who have had similar experience and with adults who can speak into the lives of those children and listen to their struggles. Our Facebook page is an extension of that effort.
We want to provide valuable resources which will help children, teens and adults deal with the fall out from the their parents’ divorce.
Our forums are currently up and running, and we invite you to begin using those immediately and spreading the word to others who might find them useful. We will slowly and consistently begin adding content almost immediately. You will be able to find these posts on our blog page and also on pages individually tailored for Kids, Teens and Adults. Finally, we recognize that our resources are not the only ones out there, so we plan on developing a Resources page to highlight other resources which may be useful to our users and a Store where you can access a variety of books related to the issue of divorce.
What can I do to help?
The most important thing you can do is to engage with others. Engage in the forums and on our Facebook page. Let your voice be heard. Answer questions. Ask for advice. Become a part of this loving community.
Second, you can help us to get the word out. Spread the news of the website and Facebook page to your circle of influence. Let the children of divorce in your life know that we are here to help them.
Finally, if you have any experience in helping children of divorce and would like to help us create content, please send me an e-mail at wayne@iamachildofdivorce.com and we’ll talk.
You may have noticed that we are now offering advertising space on I Am A Child of Divorce. As this marks a change in how we have done things in this past, it seemed appropriate to take a second to explain why we are now offering advertising space on the site.
This 16 week course is conducted entirely online with the help of a facilitator who review materials and coordinates the weekly online chat sessions. Each week, we will tackle one are of interest to teens whose parents have separated or divorced. This new program is entirely free and is designed to help teens find hope and healing as they navigate the complexity of their changing family. We will cover topics including:
