Parental Alienation is usually used as a weapon that is aimed towards the father. It can be used as a tactic to strip one of his role as the head of the family. A lot of times, the person who does it may also have a history of mental health and relationship issues. They may be females who witnessed their own mother put their father in the same situation or they may have also been abandoned by their father.
Children caught in the crossfire of parental alienation often suffer emotional distress, confusion, and conflicted loyalties. They may develop a skewed perception of the alienated parent, leading to long-term psychological and emotional consequences. Girls could display relationship issues of trust, whereas the boys could display behavioral problems with authority, etc. From my personal experience as a father, here are 5 signs of parental alienation:
5 Signs of Parental Alienation
- Disconnection: There is a disconnect in which the relationship between parent and child. The child will withdraw from the relationship and there is little communication with the parent.
- Legal Issues: There are often legal issues in which the father is being accused of a form of abuse. This is part of a legal tactic in which he loses control of the decision-making over the affairs of his own child.
- Devaluation: There is little to no more appreciation for positive contributions of the father as the head of the household. The other parent convinces the child to not want to visit his parent any more.
- Community intervention: The other parent gets the educational system or social services agency involved so that they are on her side. They end up concluding that the child may no longer want to become involved with the other parent.
- Family Intervention: Other family members begin to agree with what the other parent is saying and take sides against the father. This would further validate the false allegations of the other parent and put the father in a difficult situation that breaks the family apart.
Final Thoughts
Parental alienation is a deeply distressing issue that has had a profound and lasting effect on my family, and other families as well. As an alienated and traumatized parent, I had to endure significant emotional pain, loss of meaningful relationships with my children, and false allegations that tarnished my reputation, legal rights and parental rights.
To address this problem, it is crucial for us all to work together to intervene. By prioritizing the child’s emotional well-being and fostering healthy co-parenting relationships, we can mitigate the devastating impact of parental alienation and create a more nurturing environment for families through mediation with consequences, accountability, impartiality and prayer.
