Some people may wonder about the long term effect a parent’s  affair may have on a child…does it wound their psyche or are they oblivious to the adult world that’s going on around them?
My opinion is that they most certainly are affected by a parent’s infidelity in a very negative way. Kids aren’t stupid. They hear bits and pieces and tend to know a lot more than we sometimes give them credit for. Kids also have a way of twisting and turning the facts, and may even come to blame themselves for what mommy or daddy did. This is so sad…
They often know something is wrong, but they don’t know what it is. Most parents try to hide their pain, but its so hard. many parents simply can’t do it, and it ends up hurting the kids too.
I’ve talked with and read stories from adults who’s parents had affairs. Many of them speak of the blow it was to them. For a child, mom and dad should be “safe”…they should provide a good role model and teach good moral and values. They are the child’s first teacher about relationships. My daughters think that men cheat, and they don’t trust them in a “romantic” way. Therapy hasn’t done much to change that.
What does a parent’s cheating teach a child? That men/women can’t be trusted, that love is real, that they should settle for bad treatment because after all, that’s what relationships are all about…
Mind you, staying in a toxic marriage isn’t good either…this is why I always think that if a marriage is bad enough to cheat, then it’s bad enough to leave- but don’t cheat first. If you don’t want to leave, then don’t even think of cheating.
end of story