How Should I Deal with Parental Alienation?

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Divorce and custody battles are often overwhelming and stressful processes. This is made even more true when the relationship between you and your children begins to change. If your children’s other parent is using parental alienation against you, you must understand how to deal with it and protect yourself and your children. Work with a knowledgeable Suffolk County family law attorney for representation and legal advice.

What is Parental Alienation?

Parental alienation is a manipulative strategy that one parent may use against the other during or after a divorce. It is used as an attempt to wreck the relationship between the child and the other parent, creating both a physical and emotional distance between them.

The goal of parental alienation is to convince the child to reject the other parent and not want any sort of relationship with them. The alienating parent will attempt to cause this by speaking negatively about the other parent to the child, lying about their behavior, limiting contact between them, and more. If they succeed they could permanently alter or ruin the relationship the child has with their other parent, creating distrust and even hatred.

How Can I Deal with Parental Alienation?

Parental alienation can be extremely damaging. The child may very well never trust or love their parent again, and the parent may never be able to fully forgive the child for the things they say and do. However, the damage can be reversed with time and effort.

First, it is important for the court to recognize that your child’s other parent is using alienation tactics. Judges do not take parental alienation lightly and they will work to penalize the offending parent and restore the relationship between you and your child. Gather evidence that parental alienation is being used against you. This can include any information that disproves the allegations your ex and child are making. A big part of alienation is refusing to allow the child to have contact with the other parent. If your ex has violated the custody order or parenting plan, you can use that as evidence of their behavior.

Once it is established that your child’s other parent is attempting to alienate you from your child, you can begin the work of reversing their influence. Every child and relationship is different, so there is no telling what solution will work in your situation. However, counseling, therapy, mediation, and other practices have been proven successful in rebuilding the relationship between a parent and their child and helping the child understand that what they have come to believe is not necessarily true.

It may take a long time and a substantial amount of effort, but there is hope of getting back to the relationship you used to have with your child. Reach out to an experienced family lawyer to discuss your situation and learn more about your parental rights and responsibilities.

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