A messy divorce is an emotional nightmare for anyone in the Rockwall area, and if there are children involved, emotions can run even higher. After all, both parents often want to play a significant role in their child’s life post-divorce, leading to contentious child custody and visitation proceedings. However, even after the divorce is final this contempt towards one another can manifest itself in the form of parental alienation.
What is parental alienation?
Parental alienation takes place when one parent tries to distance the child emotionally from the other parent. This can alter the child’s view of the alienated parent in a negative and damaging way, regardless of whether the allegations are true or false.
There are various means a parent may try to alienate their child from the child’s other parent. The alienating parent may:
- Constantly and unfairly criticize their ex
- Divulge unnecessary information about their divorce to the child
- Stop the child from seeing or talking to their ex
- Insist that all the child’s belongings be kept at their house
- Entice the child to stay with them even when it is their ex’s lawful parenting time
- Keep secrets about the child from the child’s other parent
- Gossip about their ex; and
- Monitor the all the child’s contact with their ex
When parental alienation violates child custody and visitation rights
These are only some examples of how a parent can alienate their child from their ex. Parental alienation is emotionally devastating to a child and the alienated parent. If one parent is violating their child custody or visitation order through parental alienation, it may be time to take legal action to protect your rights to and relationship with your child.
