This is Five Minutes Smarter. Divorce Edition. In the FOTS House, we have recently been going through a very hard time with some family members. Sensitive situations have come up that are hard for everyone to talk about. You see, some of the adults are divorcing and separated, and naturally it's hard for the kids to understand. I remember as a kid watching family members go through separations and being really confused. I also hated that no adults would explain anything to me. It was always really vague, and we don't talk about that, or you'll understand when you're older. So today we're going to talk about it. What is divorce? Divorce is when two people decide to no longer be legally married. In the traditional sense of the word, the two people usually separate or live in different homes as well. If children are involved, the two adults then have to decide who the children will live with and for how long. Sometimes this process is done through the help of the family court system. This means that a judge can help decide what they think is best for everyone involved. Now, if you are shocked by a divorce of someone that you know or separation, know that it's not actually that rare. Statistically, 50% of marriages in the United States will end in divorce. And here's the deal: there are a lot of different reasons for a couple to get divorced. When I was a kid, no one seemed to talk about the reasons. It was just, oh, they're not gonna be at the family reunion this year. So statistically, here are the reasons. According to research, the four main reasons for divorce in the United States are first, lack of communication, meaning that the adults have a hard time talking to each other about what's important to them or they fundamentally disagree about what is important to them. Second, money or arguing about money. Third, infidelity. That means that one of the adults is spending time intimately with people that they shouldn't. And finally, the fourth reason is a lack of safety for one or both individuals. These are hard things, all of them. And not things that kids should be worried about, but sometimes you are. Now, some of these reasons are more serious than others. Divorcing someone because you thought that they would grow up to be a bajillionaire and they end up being a public school teacher, ouch, is very different than divorcing someone to keep yourself from harm in your home. No one should ever live in fear for their own safety, especially in their own home. Now, those are the main reasons found in research that people separate or divorce. But let's say that you overhear your parents or family talking about a hard situation like the ones we've discussed. How do you talk about what you know? How do you know who you can talk to? Let's play a little scenario, shall we? Imagine that you went to the doctor and the doctor said, Oof, I'm sorry, kid, but you have a serious case of stinky cheese disease. You didn't do anything wrong, but your entire life you're gonna smell like stinky cheese, and there's nothing you can do about it. Then imagine you went to school and your friend said, I heard that you got stinky cheese disease. Your mom told Lisa's mom who told my mom. Now everyone knows the details of your stinky, stinky cheese disease. That would be pretty horrible, wouldn't it? And it probably wouldn't feel very great. In essence, we don't need to talk about other people's stinky situations. They know it's stinky, and we know it's stinky. There's no need to tell them. However, if you find yourself in a hard or stinky situation, it is yours to talk about. And you feel free to do that with whomever you trust. I'm Mimi Fotz, and this has been Five Minutes Smarter with Hello from the Van.