An honest response, which I sincerely appreciate. Yes, I do wonder the same thing. I think what he might be saying is that it is painful for the children but not fatal. My younger brother was seriously affected by my parents' divorce, which happened after the rest of us had left home. He had a very hard childhood from age 10 onward. Yet, he is the most successful professionally of us all, has a wonderful home life, is a devoted husband who worships his wife, has four of the most authentically great kids I've ever met, and the world is his oyster.
Well, I agree with Dennis that divorce is not FATAL for children, and of course kids are resilient and they are forced to live through all kinds of horrors (my Dad was a child in the Holocaust in Germany) and losses. But when your life is cushy and all you have to do is just live in the same house and forsake all others for 4 more years, what is the big deal? What did Dennis have to HAVE RIGHT NOW that couldn't have waited til his son was on his own?