Mum and Dad are Splitting Up: BBC2 Documentary

Separation or divorce affects millions of people across the globe, including children of all ages.  According to the BBC, one-third of British families are directly affected by divorce.  BBC2 recently premiered a documentary that focuses on several families within this statistic and, more specifically, on how the kids remembered their parents’ split.  In Mum and Dad are Splitting Up, director Olly Lambert illustrates how children affected by divorce recall their experience of how it happened years after the fact and how their lives have been affected since.

In the documentary, Lambert asks his interviewees to explain how they remember their parents’ divorce and how their lives have been changed because of it.  The kids that were focused on are all young adults today, but they were years younger when their parents decided to end their relationship.  During the kids’ one-on-one interviews, one common theme that emerged was the desire to know more about the truth of what caused their parents to separate.  Later, Lambert interviewed the kids with their parents to address questions regarding the split.  While some had more amicable parents who were able to interview and answer direct questions from their child, others had parents whose separation was less amicable and were unable to interview as a group.   Regardless of their individual situation, most of the kids expressed some resentment towards their parents keeping them in the dark about what really caused them to break up.  Parents have a direct effect on how their children feel about relationships and trust, and these interviews demonstrate these effects within several scenarios.

The differences in each child's story, emotions, and tone demonstrates how divorce affects different families in different ways.  Some kids had a peaceful tone as they spoke of their family, while others still seemed uneasy about the situation.  Having a safe outlet to express emotions is important for children as they cope with a separation or divorce.  The interviews in Lambert’s documentary give these few kids an opportunity to express their feelings in a more public forum.  They show the importance of helping children find a comfortable place to talk about their feelings towards the changes occurring in their family.

At its heart, Mum and Dad are Splitting Up touches on the reality of how a separation or divorce inevitably creates changes within a family.  While the stories told may not be relatable to every family in this situation, it does illustrate the real emotions felt by children of divorce.  Click here to watch the documentary, Mum and Dad Are Splitting Up.