By Sara QuamParents going through a divorce may focus more on the legalities of the split than their most important assets — their children. A program through the University of Minnesota Extension Service offers helpful information to parents who want to make divorce as easy as possible for their children.Marie Atkinson-Smeins is one of the presenters. As a school counselor, she sees the effects of divorce on children and offers advice to help parents do their best through the process and after. Atkinson-Smeins said, "One thing I see a lot is kids hoping their parents will get back together. When I meet with children, we talk about changes and how they don’t have to all be bad. … For one thing, they can see that mom and dad aren’t always fighting anymore."She tells parents not to talk negatively about one another and not to put children in the middle of fights or to act as go betweens."I also think it’s important for parents to find an adult friend to talk to because they shouldn’t be telling their kids about their adult emotions and feelings," Atkinson-Smeins said.She also said children can feel as if decisions of where they’re going to live or visitation schedules are up to them. It’s important to make guidelines clear and let them know they don’t have the burden to decide details that come after a split.Various community professionals will teach sessions on these topics: Impact of Divorce on Adults, Money Issues, Impact of Divorce on Children, Child Support and the Minnesota Family Investment Program, Legal Issues, Role of Mediation and Pathways to a New Life.Program gets resultsPeople who have completed the program were asked to evaluate the program six to 12 months afterward.The Family Relations division of the University of Minnesota Extension reported that 75 percent of Parents Forever participants reported that the course helped them eliminate conflict situations in front of their children.It also convinced them that providing access to both parents and putting their children’s interests first as critical.Nearly 90 percent of the participants who said they had occasionally put their children in the middle of the parental issues reported that they learned not to criticize the other parent in front of the children.Almost 90 percent also said they seldom or never use their children to carry messages to their ex-partner.Between one-third and one-half of participants said Parents Forever made them more aware of such community resources as parenting classes, school counselors, financial services and mental health providers.