Q&A How Do I Tell Our 9 Year Old Daughter?

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Question: 

My husband had two affairs that I'm aware of, but lied about them for many years after discovery. About five years ago, we completed the EMS Online program but my husband never applied any of the lessons to our marriage. After many failed attempts over the years to set boundaries and his continuous refusal to begin recovery work, I finally filed for divorce. My husband does not want the divorce and refuses to join me in telling our daughter. She absolutely adores her daddy, but knows nothing about his infidelity. I want to be honest with her, but I don't want to harm her view of her father. I also don't want her to think that people just fall out of love. I fear damaging her understanding of marriage. How do I tell our 9 year old daughter?

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What is a good age to have a talk with children about infidelit?

I do understand 9 year old being to young and vulnerable to discuss infidelity but what would be an acceptable age? My daughter is 15 and I’ve told her that there are adult issues that she just can’t understand that are the reasons for mom and dad living separately under the same roof (which isn’t ideal but only option with Covid-19). She is angry with me that I’m not being honest with her. In her eyes I’m the one that is an emotional mess and is causing problems in our lives. I don’t necessarily want to smear my husbands image in her eyes but I do want to clear mine. It’s so not fair that I’m not only getting blame from my spouses direction but all so my daughter. She has been told by her dad that he did some bad stuff in the past and that mom can’t get over it. I’ve told her that it’s stuff in past and present that mom and dad both have to work through but this only confuses her more.?what more can be divulged to help a teenager understand?

What is a good age to have a talk with children about infidelit?

I do understand 9 year old being to young and vulnerable to discuss infidelity but what would be an acceptable age? My daughter is 15 and I’ve told her that there are adult issues that she just can’t understand that are the reasons for mom and dad living separately under the same roof (which isn’t ideal but only option with Covid-19). She is angry with me that I’m not being honest with her. In her eyes I’m the one that is an emotional mess and is causing problems in our lives. I don’t necessarily want to smear my husbands image in her eyes but I do want to clear mine. It’s so not fair that I’m not only getting blame from my spouses direction but all so my daughter. She has been told by her dad that he did some bad stuff in the past and that mom can’t get over it. I’ve told her that it’s stuff in past and present that mom and dad both have to work through but this only confuses her more.?what more can be divulged to help a teenager understand?

What is a good age to have a talk with children about infidelit?

I do understand 9 year old being to young and vulnerable to discuss infidelity but what would be an acceptable age? My daughter is 15 and I’ve told her that there are adult issues that she just can’t understand that are the reasons for mom and dad living separately under the same roof (which isn’t ideal but only option with Covid-19). She is angry with me that I’m not being honest with her. In her eyes I’m the one that is an emotional mess and is causing problems in our lives. I don’t necessarily want to smear my husbands image in her eyes but I do want to clear mine. It’s so not fair that I’m not only getting blame from my spouses direction but all so my daughter. She has been told by her dad that he did some bad stuff in the past and that mom can’t get over it. I’ve told her that it’s stuff in past and present that mom and dad both have to work through but this only confuses her more.?what more can be divulged to help a teenager understand?

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I would highly recommend giving this a try.
 
-D, Texas