Turn the Page Tuesday Jon and Kate Gosselin Edition: Was It the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story For Little Kids About Divorce

Tuesday June 23, 2009

Even if you aren't a big tv watcher, it's hard news to miss.

Jon and Kate are getting a divorce.

With media speculation swirling for months now, the harried parents of 5-year-old sextuplets and 8-year-old twins shared the big announcement on their show last night, both putting to rest and fueling the fire of their seemingly never-ending marital drama. But as the pair dominate headlines and magazine covers (and blogs like this one), I have to wonder about the impact of having such a private, confusing, painful aspect of their lives be so blatantly public will do to the children.

Despite the bad behavior on the part of the grown-ups involved being well-documented, its a very real possibility that the little ones will find a way to blame themselves for the divorce of their parents. That's what preschoolers do -- they make everything about them. That's why I'm a big fan of Was It the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story For Little Kids About Divorce (compare prices) by Sandra Levins and Bryan Langdo.

The book does a great job of explaining on a kid level what happens when parents divorce. Told from the perspective of a little boy, the underlying message here is simple: It's not your fault. Easy-to-read and full of beautiful color illustrations, the story covers things like joint custody and living with just one parent.

Obviously no book alone is going to be able to solve every problem that may arise when it comes to divorce and little kids, but this one is a good start. If you are divorced or separated, how did you tell your children?