Parental alienation is a horrible situation. It occurs when one parent, either actively or passively, uses tactics to try and “alienate” the child from the other parent. In this ever increasing technological age, parental alientation becomes more sophisticated and more prevalent. Why is it important to fight parental alienation? Parental alienation will keep one parent from being involved in the child’s life. It creates a rift between the parent and child. It is a devastating condition that takes years and years to correct. Thus, whenever you think parental alienation is occurring you need to aggressively fight against it. Based on our 20 plus years of complex custody cases here are some consistent, sure signs that you may be experiencing parental alienation:
- Giving a child a choice about visits when there are no choices. This is a classic tactic that is used to drive a wedge. Neither parent has the “choice” to follow the court order when it comes to visits. A child needs to go to visit with both parents.
- Involving the child in the case. Telling the child what is going on in court. Telling the child what the other parent “says” in court. Telling the child selective parts about the case is often used to create animosity between a child and a parent. Despite the best meaning court orders this is a part of parental alienation that is often very challenging to fix.
- Refusing to allow the child to take his/her items/property to the other parent’s house. Think about a child who has a Playstation 4 at one house but not allowed to take it to the other house…what do you think the child will want to do? Holding the child’s property “hostage” is one way alienators use to try and bribe the child not to go with the other parent.
These are just three big warning signs about parental alienation. There are many other signs and warnings. To learn more about how you can combat parental alienation contact our child custody attorneys at the Justice Legal Group by calling us at 505-880-8737 or email us at info@JusticeLegalGroup.com.