Madonna and Guy Ritchie have been granted a preliminary divorce after 8 years of marriage and two children; one of them being adopted. At London’s High Court Madonna signed the divorce papers on the basis of Ritchie’s which she quoted as “unreasonable behaviour”, with the couple reaching an agreement over their assets and children.  

In a case that wrapped up in a few minutes, both Ritchie and Madonna avoided getting into expensive courtroom drama and have agreed to share custody of their sons. Moreover, Ritchie has also made an official statement that he would not take a penny form his ex-wife although he is entitled up to half of her 300 million pound fortune. Madonna and Ritchie, who married in December 2000, have provided fine tabloid fodder for England, where they lived. The couple have two children, Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, adopted from Malawi in 2006. The singer has a daughter, Lourdes, from a previous relationship.

While a divorce is never easy pf pleasant for either partner, perhaps the biggest victim of the break-up of a marriage is the child. A divorce shakes the very foundations of child’s world and can damage his psychological frame-work to the extent that he or she may carry the scars of the traumatic event to adulthood. If you know a child in your circle of family or friends, here is how you can help him or her.

Make yourself available to the child as patient, willing listener. Assure him/her that you know divorce is painful business but you will always be there for the child in case he/she wants to talk and open up.

Give constant reassurance that the divorce is one of the many challenges that life throws up and that sooner or later things will get better. Above all, reinforce the fact that the child did not cause the divorce.

Try to spend more quality time with the child and engage him or her in things depending on your relation to the child.

You can also play the role of a trusted mediator between the child and the parents, depending on your role in the family. Without betraying the child’s trust point out the issues or concerns to either parent which you feel merit attention are not being addressed in the trying circumstances.