Prepare and submit a paper on the effects of parental conflict on childrens development. Divorce exposes a child to stress, conflict, and tension, whether between both parents, or themselves and a parent, as they are forced to take decisions where each choice seems like a losing option. Parents that give their child the choice of which parent to live with might feel they are giving their child a certain form of freedom but in reality, they might be putting the child in a very difficult situation (Steinman, 1981), where they have to choose one parent over the other, and thereafter deal with the guilt that arises from it and them sympathy they feel for the parent they did not choose.&nbsp. Of course, many parents may argue that an environment of unpleasant disagreement and conflict, one that is routinely disrupted by arguments and violence are more harmful to children than a divided household that arises from a divorce. This is, of course, a valid argument but provided that the environment is one that directly and physically affects a child. In a household or marriage where one of the parents is abusive towards the spouse or even the children, it is indeed beneficial to get a divorce and give the child a nurturing environment to grow up in. Sadly though, the leading causes of divorce include matters such as infidelity, lack of commitment or communication among spouses or a simple change of heart, all of which have no direct effect on a child and do not arise from a cause related to a child. Their reaction to the divorce is, therefore, one of confusion over why they are suddenly in the situation they had very little to do with.&nbsp.