Do you feel like your child has suddenly turned against you? Do you suspect that the other parent has played a role in your child’s changed behavior? If you answered “yes” to these questions, then you and your child may be the subject of parental alienation efforts. If you don’t work to bring this alienation to a stop, then your relationship with your child can be devastated, and your child can be psychologically harmed.
What is parental alienation?
In short, parental alienation occurs when a parent manipulates their child in a way that targets the child’s relationship with their other parent. This manipulation takes many forms, too, including lying to the child about the other parent and their behavior, restricting or entirely cutting the other parent off from communicating with the child, and talking negatively about the other parent while in the child’s presence.
The signs of parental alienation
Signs of parental alienation can manifest in several ways, too. This includes:
- Unfair and harsh criticism directed at you from your child.
- Unwavering support for the parent who is engaged in alienating behavior.
- Your child’s use of terminology that is beyond their years.
- Intimate knowledge about your relationship with the other parent that the child would only know about if the alienating parent shared that information with them.
- Criticism that extends to your family.
What can you do if you see signs of alienation?
If you see signs of parental alienation, then you need to take action. To stop this behavior, you might have to seek a child custody modification, but you’re going to need evidence that supports your claim that alienation is in fact occurring.
Before moving forward with your request, you might want to get your child into mental health services and talk to parental alienation experts who can help you generate the evidence you need to be able to make persuasive arguments.