Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are more divorced /remarried parents than many of you think. If a 50 year old couple shows up with a 10 year old kid one of the parents is likely remarried.

Agree about no stigma.

When we had our youngest I was pushing 40 and DH was 42. For her grade we're among the oldest parents in the class, but we have plenty of company in that age group.

Quite true. I, too, am in very good company in that age group. We are WELL represented and are NOT all divorced and/or remarried. Whether we are considered 'old' is a matter of perception....theirs, not ours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are more divorced /remarried parents than many of you think. If a 50 year old couple shows up with a 10 year old kid one of the parents is likely remarried.

Agree about no stigma.

When we had our youngest I was pushing 40 and DH was 42. For her grade we're among the oldest parents in the class, but we have plenty of company in that age group.

Sorry -- meant to add that we had been married nearly 15 years at that time; similarly, many of the other "older" parents also were long-married.

Anonymous wrote:There are more divorced /remarried parents than many of you think. If a 50 year old couple shows up with a 10 year old kid one of the parents is likely remarried.

Agree about no stigma.

When we had our youngest I was pushing 40 and DH was 42. For her grade we're among the oldest parents in the class, but we have plenty of company in that age group.

Anonymous wrote:There are more divorced /remarried parents than many of you think. If a 50 year old couple shows up with a 10 year old kid one of the parents is likely remarried.

Agree about no stigma.

Not every parent/couple had their kids when they were 21 years old. Many kids are the offspring of parents in their late 30s or early 40s. Your remark is not entirely accurate. There are more older parents than you think who are not divorced/remarried.

There are more divorced /remarried parents than many of you think. If a 50 year old couple shows up with a 10 year old kid one of the parents is likely remarried.

Agree about no stigma.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have noticed, I guess because I'm divorced myself, that it's grade by grade at Sheridan. Some lower grades have many and some have none.

What is the climate like at Sheridan for divorced families, and how does it impact the kids? Are they invited to less play dates? Do parents get weird? Have you been pushed aside socially as an adult? Thats a very small school, right? I would guess there is nowhere to hide in that place.

Not, PP, but Sheridan is a lovely school. We are at a different private and I'd estimate about a third of the kids have divorced parents.

I don't think you need to "hide" anywhere? There's really not the social stigma attached to being divorced that there was say in the 70s. Go with the school that's the best fit for your kid.

Anonymous wrote:The divorce rate for people with masters degrees who get married after the age of thirty is only fifteen percent. Many top private school parents for that demographic.

Makes sense.

The California independents.

I know of two divorced families in DC class. Neither set of parents are in terribly good places post-divorce and you see a good bit of acting out by the kids. It's sad.

A few divorced families, but as PPs have mentioned, its probably lower than the national norm, which correlates with the higher educational levels/later age of marriage/higher income of most private school parents in the DC area. The divorced families that I do know do a generally good job of keeping things civil for the sake of the children, although you do pick up on the messiness of the divorce in private if you're friends with the parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PLENTY of divorces at Sidwell by the time you get to MS and US. At the LS, everything appears hunky-dory for the most part. By the time the kids hit 5th grade are so, the ones who are going to call it quits, do so. And in the US, you have plenty of 2nd and 3rd marriages and OLD parents with way grown kids and new kids with the 2nd or 3rd marriage. Divorce is everywhere. Independent schools are not immune. Dont let the facades fool you. Plenty of "keeping up appearances" going on.

Terry, you really need to get help.

Stop embarrassing yourself and go get your kids.

I'm a parent at Sidwell. I'm a child of divorce too. The vast majority of the families are married couples. I don't know what the agenda is of the poster/posters insist that it would be higher. I know divorced couples at all the prominent schools in the area.

On a more important note, I would say that I think divorced couples everywhere need to put a little extra effort in to their relationships with other families. I know its difficult, believe me, but it's important to allow other families to interact with you and your kids on neutral ground. My mother and father did a lot of bickering that made people seem like they had to pick sides. It was very very hard on the kids and it was also really selfish.

Anonymous wrote:If you include parents on their second ( or more) marriage, it must be Sidwell. If the rate isn't greater than 50% I'd be surprised.

Are you a Sidwell parent or teacher? This is ridiculous.

I've been at several independent schools for many years and the divorce rate does seem low to me, only a few in each class.

Anonymous wrote:I have noticed, I guess because I'm divorced myself, that it's grade by grade at Sheridan. Some lower grades have many and some have none.



What is the climate like at Sheridan for divorced families, and how does it impact the kids? Are they invited to less play dates? Do parents get weird? Have you been pushed aside socially as an adult? Thats a very small school, right? I would guess there is nowhere to hide in that place.

At Sheridan, kids from divorced families are invited on *fewer* playdates. Wait. It's kids from illiterate families. It's so hard to keep it all straight!