Kids can navigate divorce online

There are a lot of things kids could be doing online, but coping with their parents’ divorce is arguably one of the newest. Created for kids ages six to 11, and put out by the British Columbia Justice Education Society, Changeville is a virtual world where kids can explore their feelings and find information on divorce. The website is located at www.KidsBC.ca and is password capable.

Kids can feel secure that their information including their online avatar, a character they can alter to resemble themselves by choosing eye and hair color and the like, is safe. The website grew out of the popularity of the divorce documentary “How to divorce and not wreck the kids”, aired again on CBC this past summer. Director Maureen Palmer was looking for resources to help children with divorce and realized it was one area that the internet hadn’t adequately addressed. There are books on the subject, but children today are more technology oriented.

“There are a few very good books, but the reality today is that kids live on their computers,” she says. She set out to correct the missing links. When the films’ creators approached the Justice Education Society with the idea, the response was positive.

“When Bountiful Films proposed a richly interactive multimedia website for kids dealing with divorce, it fit perfectly into our integrated approach to helping families through one of life’s most difficult challenges," said Rick Craig, Executive Director of the Justice Education Society. Funding for the project was provided by the Department of Justice Canada. Child Specialist Deborah Brakeley, who consulted on the website’s development, says she knows children for whom the site will meet a need.

“A very significant and meaningful part of my practice involves working with children whose parents are breaking up or have already separated. So many children feel very alone and uninformed during this process. KidsBC.ca creates a sense of community and support. Children can log on and see characters whose lives are very much like their own and then they can bring more understanding to their own experience," she says.

Made up of games and activities, Changeville intends to put the tools of healing into kids’ hands faster. Even kids without access to family therapy can reach a measure of understanding with this site they might have not reached without it. Funded by the Canadian government, the website can have affect beyond North American boundaries.

“Children all over the world can visit www.KidsBC.ca to learn more about how they can better deal with their own family situation,” says Craig.

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