It’s Friday evening, and sophomore Shyanne Weston is getting ready to go to her dad’s house. She packs her clothes, shoes, makeup and hair supplies before carrying her bags and backpack to her brother’s car and leaving for her dad’s house, where she will stay for five days. This is the reality for students with split parents.
Eight years ago, when Shyanne’s parents split, she and her siblings began to feel the extra pressure that comes with having to include both parents in their events.
“My parents divorced when I was in second grade,” Shyanne said. “I kind of shut down and didn’t want to go to my dad’s house because I thought he didn’t want to be a part of the family, and I had to do so much.”
Despite this, Shyanne eventually gained the courage to start visiting her father. Eight years later, she now visits every other Friday and every Monday. Even though they’ve had this routine for a while, it can still be complicated.
“When my brother has morning practice for his sport, I don’t have a way to get my bag [of clothes] to the other person’s house, so that complicates things,” Shyanne said.
According to the study “The impact of family structure on the health of children: Effects of divorce,” written by Jane Anderson, “children of divorced parents are more likely to have lower grade point averages (GPAs) and be asked to repeat a year of school.”
Despite the statistics, Shyanne has maintained a good standing in both her academics and extracurriculars, thriving inside and outside the classroom with sports and grades. However, with her junior year approaching, she worries about the challenges she will face as she assumes more academic responsibility.
“I think it’s harder now that I’m older than when it [parents splitting] happened. I have more extracurriculars and more opportunities with the CTEs that the school offers,” Shyanne said. “Also, I had braces recently, and figuring out which parent was paying for them was hard.”
Not only is Shyanne affected by the split, but so is her brother, senior Westlee Weston. With graduation coming up, Westlee feels he is under more pressure and experiences more difficulty than other kids.
“I was ten when they split, and it put a lot of pressure on me to choose a parent’s side,” Westlee said. “Having to include both of them somehow in events like sports is difficult, and now with graduation coming up, paying for it is hard to figure out.”
Although Shyanne and her brother have faced challenges due to the pressure of their parent’s separation, they have overcome this obstacle by finding ways to include their parents in their extracurricular activities and events.
“At first, my siblings and I felt like we had to choose a parent, but in high school, it’s really about which one continues to support you,” Shyanne said, “and our family has made it work for us, from sports to paying for things we need.”
