Why Do People Break Up?

The eternal question, right? And that’s what my seven year old presented me with at 7 o clock this morning.

No sooner had he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes had he said,

“Why do people break up?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Auntie Stacey and Carlos broke up for a while didn’t they? And you and my mum broke up didn’t you? And my friend’s Mum and Dad are breaking up. Loads of people break up!”

“Sometimes it just doesn’t work out like it should. Or like you want it to,” I told him.

“Why?” his response... I should have expected that.

“Lots of reasons. Sometimes people change or decide they want different things. Like your Mum wanted to be in Russia and I wanted to be in England. And Carlos wanted to be in Brazil but Auntie Stacey wanted to be in England, for example.”

He pondered it and said nothing for a few minutes. As we ate breakfast he then asked,

“Well what about my friend’s Mum and Dad. None of them want to live in Brazil or Russia. They both live here.”

“It’s not always where people want to live. Sometimes people just don’t love people anymore. Or they decide they want to do different things or be with a different type of person. Sometimes they fight and that makes them split up.”

“Well,” he told me, “When I am grown up I’m going to find someone who will always love me and then I won’t have to break up will I?”

I smiled. Children have the most beautiful dreams.