Challenges of men and divorce

1. Coping with less money. Unless the husband is going to give the wife every penny he earns, which isn’t possible, both spouses are going to have to live with less. It’s nothing personal to either gender. Most people are financially stable after divorce. Moreover, most divorce agreements specify that spousal support will decrease over time, so a financial pinch is likely to be only temporary.

2. Coping with less parenting time. Most men’s parenting time does not decrease after a divorce. Parenting time schedules try to replicate the routine that the kids had prior to the divorce. Even if a dad has less parenting time than the mom, it’s likely because the dad didn’t share caretaking responsibilities equally with the mother before the divorce. Parenting time schedules are never set in stone forever. They can always change one way or the other of the best interests of the child require it.

3. Having to learn all functions as a single parent. If Dad is part of the routine on more than just the weekend, he has to learn how to do all the things that Mom used to do all by herself. But that shouldn’t be held against Dad any more than Mom’s lack of work experience outside the home would be held against her. The divorce agreement should include an affirmation by both parents of their readiness to take on all relevant child-related tasks.

4. Expressing their emotions in divorce. Men traditionally have a harder time expressing their feelings. For that reason, both parents should state the rationale for their divorce-related decisions in the divorce agreement. That way, Dad won’t agree to something he may regret later.