Recently I saw something that struck a chord with me. A year six teacher spoke about the results of a creative writing project she had given to her class. She asked the kids in the class to complete the following sentence “I wish”.

One would think it would be healthy for children so young to write about their desires for a new bike, Xbox, or a new laptop or tablet. But instead of writing for their wishes for the latest high-tech gizmo. 20 of the 30 young kids made reference to the breakup of their families. Furthermore, the internal conflict in their homes and in the statement I wish they added “I wish my father would come back” I wish to get good grades so my dad would love me” “I wish my mother didn’t have a boyfriend.” “I wish I had one mum mum dad.”

Nobody would be surprised to know that the family unit is in trouble. But if you’re like me it is continually distressing that such young children struggle at a time of their lives where they should be having fun, making good relationships, forming real bonds.

Undoubtedly, every aspect of a child’s life is affected when a family breaks up, or there is instability. Without the ability to gain access to professional counselling many of the kids affected this way will drag their problems into future relationships, empirical research has shown.

Undoubtedly, research has shown, that without the proper professional help, the crumbling will repeat itself again and again