When a toddler watches The Little Mermaid and sees Prince Eric kiss Ariel, they aren't wondering about maritime law or interspecies relations. They are thinking: “The scary sea witch is gone. The music is happy. Now they are touching mouths. That means the story is finished and everyone is safe.”

A preschooler whose parents are divorcing will not ask, “Why don’t you love each other anymore?” They will ask, “Where will the daddy sleep?” They are obsessed with the logistics of the disruption. In their mind, romantic storylines are supposed to end with a wedding (a party, a cake, a consolidation of resources). A divorce is a narrative error.