KIES training

KIES means Children In Separation
It is a group-based programme of eight meetings for children of 7 to 12 years. With games and creative assignments, children can tell, share and learn how to cope better with separation.

The group is supervised by two social workers. They have undergone special training for this purpose and are official KIES coaches.

Why KIES for your child?
Children do not choose their parents' divorce. It happens to them. Each child reacts differently to the changes.
Some children are sad or angry. Other children say little and move on quietly. For all children, divorce feels like the loss of the family. They have to get used to everything becoming different.

Children can feel powerless. Sometimes they are not sure what they can do to deal with the situation.

Talking helps
Children often keep their deepest feelings during a divorce to themselves. They don't want to make their parents sad. Sometimes, talking to a child even feels like betraying their parents. We call this loyalty.

Yet children often have many questions, thoughts and feelings about divorce. It is important that they learn that all these feelings are normal.
Noticing that other children are experiencing similar things makes them feel seen and heard. They experience that they are not alone.

During the meetings, children practise how to talk about difficult things and what can help them. This helps them regain confidence in themselves and learn how to cope with changes.

Meetings for parents
For parents, there are two meetings of about 45 minutes:

• An information session at the beginning of the training.
• An evaluation meeting at the end.

During these meetings, parents are given tools to support their child. Even though parents are no longer partners, they remain jointly responsible for their children's well-being. The dates of these parent meetings will be announced later.