Parental Alienation: A Definition and Examples

Parental alienation is a serious issue that can have a negative impact on the lives of children and their families.

It occurs when one parent attempts to interfere with or undermine the relationship between the other parent and their child.

This can occur during or after divorce proceedings or even in co-parenting relationships.

Parental alienation can take many forms, including verbal abuse, physical abuse, and emotional manipulation.

In this article, we will discuss what parental alienation is and provide some examples of how it can manifest in different situations.

What is Parental Alienation?

Parental alienation is a serious issue that affects children and their parents.

It is defined as the systematic denigration of one parent by the other parent, which leads to the child rejecting or showing hostility towards that parent.

It is a serious issue that can have a long-term impact on the mental health and well-being of both parents and children.

Parental alienation occurs when one parent attempts to alienate their child from the other parent, usually through manipulation or negative behavior.

This behavior can have devastating consequences for both the child and the alienated parent, leading to long-term emotional damage and trauma.

It is important to be aware of the signs of parental alienation in order to prevent it from happening in your family.

Signs of Parental Alienation

If you are worried that your child may be experiencing parental alienation from their other parents, here are some signs you should look out for:

They Get the Kids to Spy On You

Your ex may be using your children to spy on you and find out information about your life, such as who you are dating, what you are spending your money on, etc.

Not only are they teaching the kids how to ignore and disrespect privacy and boundaries, but they are criticizing your decisions in front of the children as they gather this information.

Parents will sometimes interrogate the child for details or eavesdrop on conversations between the child and their other parent.

They Blame You For Everything

When parents try to alienate the child from their other parent, they will blame that parent for everything that has gone wrong, especially the relationship ending.

If you think your ex is trying to alienate your child from you, they may be telling your child that you broke up because it’s your fault.

This can lead children to blame the other parent for breaking up and ruining the family.

Listening to this blame can also lead the child to blame their other parent for things that are not their fault.

They Interfere with Visitation

When someone is trying to alienate a child from their other parent, they may start to interfere with and manipulate the visitation schedule by giving the child the choice of whether or not they want to see their other parent.

They may also schedule activities that conflict with the visitation schedule and be unreasonable when it comes to making reasonable changes.

Parents who try to alienate the other parent tend to encroach on visitation time by expecting phone calls with their children or other methods of constantly checking in.

Then, when the other parent tries to establish boundaries with their time, they are accused of keeping the child away from their other parent.

They Accuse You of Abuse

Yes, some people will go as far as accusing the other parent of abuse in order to alienate them from the child.

They may even go as far as to involve CPS, the court, therapists, and other professionals to try and get the other parent in trouble.

Your Child’s Behaviors Have Changed

If parental alienation is happening, you may notice that your child is withdrawing from their relationship with you.

You may also notice that your child is overly critical of you and consistently sides with and supports the other parent.

This can be absolutely devastating, but there are ways you can address and put a stop to parental alienation.

What Can Parents Do About It?

It’s important that you first make sure that parental alienation is truly occurring, which you can do by speaking with a mental health professional or legal professional.

Then, you can effectively intervene and reverse the damage that has been done.

Here are some ways you can deal with parental alienation:

Court Order

A court order is a legal document that defines visitation and access between separated parents.

Court orders are typically created based on an agreement between the two parents, which is simply signed off on by a judge to make it official.

While court orders are used to keep the peace between parents, they can also involve submitting evidence to ensure the child is not being harmed.

In the case of parental alienation, you would have to submit evidence from objective third parties who can testify that parental alienation is happening and negatively affecting your child.

It’s possible from there that the judge will allow changes to the court order to prevent this from happening any further.

Counseling

In order to sort through the emotional damage caused by parental alienation, you and your child can seek counseling from a mental health professional.

Not only can therapy help you deal with the emotional effects of parental alienation, but seeking professional help can also help you reunite with your child.

Communication and Contact

If you are not the custodial parent with the day-to-day care of your child, it’s important that you remain in constant contact with them if their other parent is trying to alienate you.

Engage in fun activities during your time together and avoid getting angry or upset with your child because of their behaviors.

Also, make sure you are not bad-mouthing the other parent.

If you do have day-to-day care of your child, but their other parent is trying to alienate them, ensure that you encourage open and honest communication in your household.

Be sure to always validate your child’s feelings and never judge or criticize them for what they have to say.

The Impact of Parental Alienation on Children & Ways to Help Them Heal

While parental alienation is considered to be a parental conflict, it can end up causing serious psychological and emotional harm.

Overall, it is a form of abuse. It can have lasting effects on the child and lead to struggles such as:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Eating disorders
  • Addictions
  • PTSD

It can also damage the relationship between the child and the targeted parent, and that damage may extend to siblings and other family members.

Because alienating a child from a parent they previously loved can cause significant damage to the child’s sense of self and lead to extreme feelings of guilt and shame.

When it comes to a child who has suffered from parental alienation, it’s important that you continue to give them the love and care they deserve.

If the situation is severe, they may need to talk to a therapist or other professional to sort out their experience.

Otherwise, do what you can to prevent parental alienation while continuing to support your child.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.

404 Not Found

404 Not Found


nginx/1.18.0