Katie Price says children of divorced parents are

Katie Price has sparked controversy by announcing on day time television that children of divorced parents are "lucky" because they get "extra presents and trips".

The celebrity has a degree of personal experience of family breakdown. Her parents separated when she was young and she has recently divorced Peter Andre - the father of her two youngest children.

Ms Price's comments, however, did not appear to be limited just to her or her children but a general observation which she presumably feels applies to all.

Divorce is a sad fact of modern life. Marriages break down and many divorced couples have children. In the writer's experience (as a divorce lawyer and a person with friends and relatives who have divorced parents) these children rarely feel "lucky" and no amount of presents or trips will replace what is their real (but often impossible) wish - that there parents will stay together.

The only time children are in any way pleased their parents have separated is when they are able to understand that the parents are happier apart than together or because the degree of conflict at home is unpleasant for everyone. 

When a couple separates it should be the number one priority for all parties concerned (parents, relatives, friends and lawyers if involved) to minimise the adverse impact on the children. This is achieved, however, by protecting them from the more upsetting sides of relationship breakdown not by taking them to Disneyland.

Hopefully, the comments were simply the result of the perils of live television and not her latest attempt to generate publicity - a tactic to which this blog has fallen victim.