By Amanda Craig, PhD

If you ever get the chance, go see the one-man comedy Defending the Caveman— I highly recommend it. It plays all over the world and offers a comical yet honest depiction of male and female dating rituals: describing men as hunters and women as gatherers, with survival as the ultimate goal.
 
We have learned so much about dating rituals and what we now call attachment between partners since the caveman era. Research lead by John and Julie Gottman, and Sue Johnson, has found the essential element of a healthy relationship is actually not the way couples work together, or that they have the same interests and opinions, or even share common traits.

Here is what you can expect from children of different ages during divorce, and how you as parents can support them through this difficult experience.

Unfortunately, when this stage ends, usually after 3 to 6 months, many couples are left feeling the magic is gone.  A relationship that once seemed so intense now seems mundane.  But established monogamy may still provide a feeling of comfort and security, and partners may believe it is normal to exchange that spark for stability.  A type of joint complacency.