Parental alienation is more common than you might think. In fact, some studies have shown that as many as 25% of parents engage in alienating behavior, sometimes even several years after a divorce is finalized. And this behavior can cause significant harm to you, your child, and your relationship with your child if you don’t quickly get a handle on it.
Unfortunately, though, many parents in the Phoenix area don’t know how to identify alienation, let alone how to stop it. That’s why in this post we want to give you some starting points for building your alienation arguments so that you’re better positioned to argue for the child custody arrangement that best protects your child’s best interests.
Signs of parental alienation
Quickly, let’s look at signs of parental alienation so that you know what to watch for. These signs include:
- Your child unrelentingly and unfairly criticizing you and your family.
- Your child displaying unwavering support for the other parent.
- The other parent minimizing your access to your child.
- The other parent failing to keep you informed on your child’s education and medical events.
- The other parent telling lies about you to your child.
If you see any of these signs and suspect parental alienation, then you need to start thinking about how you can develop a legal strategy to bring it to a stop and to protect your child.
How can you stop parental alienation?
To stop parental alienation, you’re probably going to have to file a motion to modify the existing child custody arrangement. To succeed here, you’ll have to show that there’s been a substantial change in circumstances, which parental alienation will satisfy. But how do you show that parental alienation is occurring? Here are some tips:
- Utilize expert testimony: Given the intricacies of parental alienation arguments, you might want an expert on your side. If your child is seeing a therapist, then this individual might be the most beneficial. They can speak as to your child’s behavior and any signs of manipulation that have been observed, and they might be able to testify about how damaging the alienating behavior has been for your child.
- Use witnesses who have seen alienating behavior: There’s a fair chance that your child’s other parent has been observed engaging in alienating behavior. You just have to find those witnesses and subpoena them to testify on your behalf at the modification hearing.
- Retain communications: It’s likely that the other parent has sent you a text message, email, or voicemail that demonstrates how they’re blocking you from communicating with your child or otherwise trying to manipulate your relationship with them. These statements can be powerful and persuasive to a judge when you’re trying to modify custody.
- Social media posts: If you have access to the other parent’s social media pages, then you should look through them to see if any of their posts are indicative of how they’re manipulating your relationship with your child. You might find that they’re bad mouthing you even though your child has access to their social media, or they may blatantly discuss how they’re not going to allow you around your child. Capture what you can so that you can present it to the court.
Don’t let parental alienation ruin your relationship with your child
Parental alienation is so serious that some people consider it to be child abuse. That emphasizes the importance of quickly addressing alienation once you discover that it’s going on. But we know that navigating the legal challenges of your case can be tough. That’s why you might want to seek out assistance when trying to find the best path forward in your child custody case.