A child who is experiencing their parents parting ways in divorce deserves some grace, especially if they’re at a young, impressionable age. Everything they thought they knew about love, family dynamics, and normalcy has been flipped on its head. They no longer see Mom and Dad as a unit, but rather two beings independent of one another and struggling to make it work for their kid. Nobody wants this experience. If you’re a child of divorce, you know the lasting impact it can have on the way you view relationships and family.

After the divorce has settled, you try to make sense of how either parent is moving on. Some people are quicker to pair up again, and this could sting. «What happened to Mom? It’s only been one year!»

Even still, you accept that happiness might not look the same to you as it does to your father. In this next story, a teen accepts her father’s new wife, but refuses to accept her as a «bonus mom.» Scroll to read the full story.