In the three months between July and October 2008, the national debate, Kids in the Middle which was launched in July and is backed by national charities Relate, Families Need Fathers, One Parent Families|Gingerbread and the Fatherhood Institute, has been operating a national online survey of UK families’ experiences of separation and divorce.

The survey results

The survey, which is believed to be the largest of its kind, has gathered the experiences and views on separation of more than 1500 children and families across the UK. Today it reveals that, among respondents to the online survey:

• Nearly 70% of children rate their experience of parental separation as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’
• 92% of parents and 93% of children believe more should be done to support children who are going through a separation
• 92% of parents believe more should be done to support adults who are going through a separation
• 98% of parents agree that children should be a priority when parents are managing a separation
• 82% of children feel they aren’t encouraged to talk about their parents’ separation
• 72% of children felt they needed someone to talk to about their feelings.

Better support needed

Today (20 October 2008), twenty of the nation’s leading agony aunts – led by the Sun’s Deidre Sanders will meet Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls to make the case for better support for children and parents facing family breakdown in England and Wales.

The UK lags severely behind other developed countries (including the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand) in developing innovative schemes to support couples and individuals, adults and children, experiencing this momentous life-change.

For the KIDS IN THE MIDDLE press release, click here

For more results from the KIDS IN THE MIDDLE survey, click here or right click on Children and Parental Separation: Managing Conflict, Rethinking Support below and ‘Save Target As…’ to save a copy onto your hard disk.

For the Fatherhood Institute research summary on separated families, click here

Children and Parental Separation: Managing Conflict