Typically, divorce is a very challenging experience. And if you are a father, the challenge is even more daunting due to the threat of being separated from your child. It is becoming more evident that both the mother and the father are important and should be involved in raising their children. Children need equal time and attention from both parents.
Parental alienation involves a corrupt relationship with your child after a divorce. Parental alienation can take two different forms; direct alienation and indirect alienation. Direct alienation occurs when one parent is trying to interfere with the other parent’s relationship with their child. An example of indirect alienation is a parent being co-dependent on the child by manipulating them to go against the other parent, as well as to convince the child that the other parent is bad.
A common parental alienation technique is a parent telling their child about their divorce case, court modification and visitation plan. Another common type of alienation is one parent interfering when the child is spending time with the other parent. An example is when one parent decreases the one on one time with the child with the other parent by scheduling appointments or interfering with visitation hours. Courts treat parental alienation by looking at custody evaluators who can observe the family dynamics and see if parent alienation has occurred and give recommendations to the court including counseling and a change of custody. There are a variety of different options the court has, and that may include requesting the parent appear in court and changing the child custody plan.
If you were denied visitation time by your child’s mother, you may want to consider keeping a detailed record of your visitation days with your child that you can share at your hearing with the court to prove parental alienation has taken place. If you are a father, and you are noticing these kinds of behaviors, you should consider hiring an experienced attorney who can provide you with the best advice to protect your relationship with your child.