Do you feel like your child has suddenly turned against you and that you’re being cut out of his or her life? If so, then it’s possible that you and your child are being subjected to parental alienation. Should this be the case, then you need to take quick action to stop that behavior and protect your relationship with your child.
But what is parental alienation?
Parental alienation is the manipulation of a child with the hope of creating distance between that child and his or her other parent. Parental alienation can take many forms, including the consistent feeding of false information, such as that the other parent doesn’t love the child. In some circumstances, the communication between the other parent and the child may be blocked, with the child being told that the other parent has no interest in speaking with the child. Other times, fun activities are planned during the other parent’s visitation time, which leaves that parent forcing visitation and causing resentment or foregoing visitation, either of which can negatively impact that parent’s relationship with the child.
But parental alienation can go much further than that. In some cases, alienating parents go so far as to program children to believe that they have been abused by the other parent. This information is then used to further restrict that other parent’s access to the child.
What can you do to stop alienation?
First, you need to be observant. If your child is unrelentingly criticizing you without justification while showing unwavering support for the other parent, then you need to investigate further. Then, consider seeking some sort of evaluation of your child so that you can better gauge whether alienation is occurring. This might require a court order.
At that point, you need to gather as much evidence as you can to support a child custody modification. This evidence may include witness accounts, your own testimony, and your child’s therapy records. We know that this seems daunting, but the courts are becoming much more receptive to parental alienation arguments. So, seek out the support that you need, craft the legal arguments that are necessary to defend your position, and fight to protect your child.