How to Help Your 6-Year-Old Navigate Divorce with Peace and Confidence
Understanding What Divorce Feels Like for a Six-Year-Old
Children at age six are full of curiosity, questions, and emotion. They’re young enough to need simple reassurances, yet old enough to notice when life shifts under their feet. When parents divorce, kids in this age group often carry big emotions without the words or tools to sort them out. As a parent, supporting your child through this emotional landscape doesn’t mean having all the answers — it means offering steadiness, even when your own world is rippling with change.
Listening Before Fixing: What Your Child Really Needs Right Now
In the days and weeks following the announcement of a divorce, your six-year-old may have a lot of questions — or none at all. They may act out, withdraw, regress in behaviors, or ask if they caused the separation. Rather than rushing to soothe or explain everything away, start by being fully present. That means listening with your eyes, ears, and your heart.
When your child says, "I don’t want things to change," or asks, "Will Daddy still come to my birthday?"—answer with honesty, not false hope. More than perfect answers, your child needs to know, through your tone and consistency, that their world remains safe and loved. Allow for repeated questions, even if they're difficult. Predictability, over time, helps rebuild trust.
Stability Is the New Comfort
One of the most powerful ways to support your six-year-old through divorce is by building and protecting a predictable routine at home. Kids crave rituals they can count on: the bedtime story, the morning goodbye hug, the snack after school.
If you’re adjusting to new custody arrangements or living in two homes, this transition can feel disruptive. And it will be inconvenient, emotionally loaded, and challenging — for everyone. But within that challenge lies the chance to create a new foundation. A solid family routine fosters a sense of safety where love doesn't depend on location or circumstance.
Helping Them Feel, Not Fear, Their Emotions
At 6, emotions can get loud. Instead of discouraging anger, tears, or confusion, help your child recognize and name what they’re going through. Phrases like, “You’re feeling really sad because you miss how things used to be,” or “It’s okay to cry if today feels too big,” teach emotional vocabulary — and self-trust.
If evenings tend to be emotional hot spots, you’re definitely not alone. These transitions — from school to homework, dinner to bedtime — become even harder when your child is grappling with a major life change. Consider setting aside quiet moments after school as “connection time” before jumping into tasks. For more ideas on navigating this sensitive time of day, explore our guide on supporting evening emotions as a single parent.
Small Tools with a Big Impact
You don’t always need the perfect words. Sometimes, what helps most is a gentle tool that supports calm, offers escape, or creates consistent moments of bonding. Audiobooks and stories can be one of those tools. They invite children to step into another world for a while — a comforting structure, a new voice that carries them through a story arc, and often, indirectly, helps them process their own emotions.
Apps like LISN Kids, available on iOS and Android, offer a rich library of original audiobooks and audio series designed for kids aged 3 to 12. Whether it’s a gentle wind-down story before bed or a fresh voice during a quiet afternoon, a favorite tale can become a comforting ritual — especially when everything else feels new and unsettled.
Parenting Through Transition: Comfort Is in the Little Things
Remember, showing up for your child doesn’t require perfection. They may resist their new life at moments, ask for their other parent when it’s your turn, or express sadness in surprising ways. That doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It means they trust you with their realest feelings.
Lean into the basics: quiet dinners, screen-free evening rituals, extra hugs, and intentional moments of attention. If bedtime is a struggle between households, here’s how to create calm and continuity at bedtime even in two-home living. And on the days when emotions run higher — for them or for you — don’t forget it’s okay to simplify. A familiar story, a shared laugh, or a few moments of quiet connection after school can go further than you think. You’ll find simple, powerful ideas in this guide on soothing your child after a hard school day.
Above All: Keep the Love Unshakable
Divorce doesn’t mean love is divided. It means the structure in which it lives is transforming. And while that transformation is hard — sometimes unbearably so — your child can emerge resilient, grounded, and emotionally aware. Not in spite of the change, but because of how lovingly you helped them through it.
One day at a time, one small choice at a time — your steady hand helps their heart adjust. And that’s what will carry them forward with courage.