Parental Alienation: Four Facts

Parental alienation is becoming recognized around the US and Canada for the damaging act it is. As more and more couples are divorcing, and co-parenting, this important subject is coming to light. Here are some facts for those wanting to learn more.

Parental Alienation: Four Facts-Number One: Parental alienation is "brainwashing" - According to Fact.on.ca, parental alienation is when one parent (typically the one with primary custody) makes an attempt to sever the bond between children of a divorced couple, and the target parent. Over the years, as the concept of joint custody has become popular, so has the incidence of cases of parental alienation.

Parental Alienation: Four Facts-Number Two: Parental alienation is child abuse. - According to Dr Glenn F. Cartwright, children desire, by nature, to love both parents. The alienating procreator, in their attempts to either "eliminate" the target progenitor, or to recruit the children onto their "side," cause unnecessary pain and confusion to the subject child. Regardless of whether the alienating parent is the mother or father, and regardless of which parent "wins," it's always the child who loses.

Parental Alienation: Four Facts-Number Three: Parental alienation is beginning to be recognized as damaging by the psychiatric community. - At the website Stopparentalalienation.org, new divorcees can learn about the damaging effects of an alienating parent on children from a host of legitimate certified experts on the subject of child psychology. Experts are even beginning to recognize patterns that, many experts believe, may be an expression of a condition now known as Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS).

PAS is identified by such symptoms as A) an irrational and unjustified hatred of the target parent; B) otherwise normal child behavior until the target parent is mentioned; and C) claims against the target which, are based on memories preceding the birth of the child. When actual abuse or neglect is present in the case history, a determination of PAS is not applied.

Forcing a child to have to choose between the approval of their Mom or Dad, over the other, has such dire consequences for the children later in life that, it deserves to be recognized as a jail-able offense. Any other form of child abuse is treated as such.

Parental Alienation: Four Facts-Number Four: Re-marriage can sometimes trigger parental alienation - Again, according to Fact.on.ca, whenever a parent re-marries, it's sometimes the case that, one parent might try to "make room" for the step-parent by attempting to "turn" the child against the target parent. Competition between the ex-spouse and the new step-parent might also be a cause of the issue. Mothers wishing to "move on" and fathers wanting to get away from the past may also commit acts of alienation. Mostly, these problems seem to center around one basic emotion, and that emotion is fear.

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Originally published on the Yahoo Contributor Network January 24th, 2010

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