Newly separated...

[flippingstupidnickname]

and 8 year old dc asking why Daddy can't come on holliday with us - what do I say??

How horrid
But you must tell the truth.
That the two of you have decided not to be together any more, and that means not holidaying together, that you don't want to.
Just keep it simple.

Trouble is he keeps saying Why? And then asks whose idea all this was. Thanks for your reply it's been a couple of months now and I thought things would get easier but it seems to be getting harder instead... but that's good advice and I'll just keep repeating.

I was lucky my daughter was OK with divorce, but she was a few years younger. But that asking over and over - she does that about other things, and she's just processing. Not really that upset, just needs the big things gone over a few times. Stick to the same story and don't worry too much that he keeps asking.

For the why, I told my daughter that we just realised we weren't "one true loves" as she was a bit Disney obsessed

My friend's son had a friend at school who he really liked, but they wind each other up and the teacher would separate them. She told him that it was like that for her and his dad - they just couldn't seem to get along all the time, nobody's fault. He seemed to relate to that quite well.

Definitely avoid fault, and over complication.

I've also told my daughter "well, daddy's kind of one of my friends, but he's not really one of my best friends" - which is positive (more positive than the truth ) but allows for me preferring to be with others. She seems to get that.

Thank you, that's really helpful advice!