Tweet

The extreme stress from Heidi and Seal’s separation could damage their four children! A top child psychiatrist told HollywoodLife.com how they can help their kids handle the breakup.

Heidi Klum and Seal recently announced that they’re splitting up after six years of a seemingly happy marriage. We were shocked, so how will the kids handle the news? Dr. Susan Abbott, a top child and adolescent psychiatrist, told HollywoodLife.com exclusively the best way to handle the separation when it comes to their four kids — Leni, 7, Henry, 6, Johan, 5, and Lou, 2. “Being children of wealth, their parents should be careful with over indulging them or disregarding their limitations because they feel guilty over the split,” Dr. Abbott explained.

Dr. Abbott says that involved parents like Heidi and Seal should continue participating and keeping life as normal as possible. Here’s her tips for handling the separation:

• Have joint custody
• Both participate in major life decisions in the kids’ lives
• Do the same activities they did before the split
• Keep everything as normal as possible

What not to do? Overindulge the children out of guilt! “Kids can spiral out of control and become spoiled,” Dr. Abbott warned. “Studies show that children do well if situations of extreme stress, like a parent separation, are handled as normal as possible.”

She explained that young children (elementary school age) are “egocentric.” “They believe they are to blame for the events that occur around them,” she said. “They have to reassure the children, not just once but throughout time, that the separation is not their fault and has nothing to do with them.”

-Milesska Contreras, Anna Moeslein

More Heidi & Seal stories:

1. If Seal Has Anger Issues, Then Heidi Klum Should Leave, Says Expert
2. Heidi Klum & Seal Confirm Separation — Statement
3. Heidi Klum & Seal: Why They Shouldn’t Divorce