It’s a Friday night and you’re getting ready for bed. You go to plug in your phone and realize you don’t even have a charger. It’s at your mom’s house, which is inconvenient since you’ll be staying at your dad’s all weekend. And now you can’t sleep because there’s too much on your mind.

For Allix Lockered, sophomore at Big Sky High School, this kind of dilemma is a regular thing. Children with divorced parents have a lot to deal with. Having your parents split apart makes a big impact on your everyday life. Especially when you don’t know the whole story.

“I was young when my parents got divorced so I didn’t really understand why or what was happening. I think the hardest part was getting used to my new life.”

Around 40% of kids in America have divorced parents. And out of those kids, almost all of them have to adjust to major changes. For example, who they will live with or when they will see the other side of the family.

Parents often don’t get along after a divorce. This could affect the kids in a negative way. Lockered says, “My parents don’t get along the greatest…I mean they’re able to talk to each other but it’s hard, because they are supposed to set an example of a healthy relationship and it’s kind of the opposite.”

However, it’s not only negatives that come with a divorce. For the kids, it may be better. For instance, with sophomore Megan Kelley, at Big Sky, when her parents got divorced, it was like having a weight lifted off of her shoulders. “I felt relieved…it’s better that my parents are getting divorced rather than staying together and being unhappy.”

Counselor Aine Franczyk says almost the same thing. “If it’s an unhealthy environment, then if parents separate and there is less conflict, I think that can be helpful for students for sure…I think it can almost be a relief.”

Although divorce can have a positive impact on life, some statistics say that kids with divorced parents are more likely to drop out of school. Lockered had some mixed feelings after hearing about this.

“I mean I guess I can understand that, but I don’t think that that’s very true. My parents and a bunch of my friends’ parents are divorced and none of us would dropout because of it. I think that would only be true if the divorce caused more problems than before.”

It really all depends on the situation and home bad things are. “I think it depends on the kid and what they’re going through,” says Kelley on kids with separated parents dropping out of school.

As Kelley and Franczyk have said, it can be a relief when your parents split up, but it also can feel like a force on you. “Loss and conflict, and having to go back and forth between two parents can cause stress,” says Franczyk.

“It’s kinda stressful during the divorce but once you get used to it life gets a little better,” Lockered says. Although divorce can be stressful, we’ve been told that it’s more of a relief. How kids react and cope with separated parents really depends on them and the situation.

It’s the end of the day and you climb back into bed. You fall asleep fast because you don’t have any worries knowing that you can wake up and have a stress free day and hangout with your friends. Your family may be split up but, life is finally enjoyable.

Francyzk says that divorce can benefit students. “It can be a more positive thing for students in the end.”