It's safe to assume that divorce is not really a celebratory event for anyone, but then again every family is different and some traverse through the process more smoothly than others.

However, according to the executive director of Kids' Turn, a nonprofit organization located in California that provides support for children and families going through a divorce, there are universal challenges all parents face, no matter how effortless the transition is seemingly going.

Children have eyes: Some parents will try and make every effort to maintain the peace and not fight in front of their children. However, it's believed that kids of all ages can easily pick up physical expressions and verbal conduct emanating from their parents. Tone of voice, body language or distance from each other --albeit subtle -- can send a signal to children that something is not quite right with mom and dad.

Children will blame themselves: According to the executive director of Kids' Turn, children are the center of their universe so they automatically think they caused their parents to split. Depending on the age, parents can sit down and talk to their children about the reasons behind the break-up, but many kids will still perceive the event as something they are responsible for.

Children will be unaffected: Some parents may see the divorce as a tough patch in the road and that, long term, their children will come out ok. Pointing to the high number of divorces that occurred with the baby boomer generation, the executive director of Kids' Turn says that long term, divorce can unfortunately have a lasting effect on children and "their ability to develop their own relationships can be impeded later in life."

Luckily, books, support groups and educational programs located all across the country, like Kids' Turn, are widely available to help parents and their children get through divorce with minimal conflict.

Source: The Huffington Post, The Kids' Will Be Just Fine And Other Divorce Myths, Feb 2, 2012