When you split from your romantic partner and your child’s other parent in Minnesota, it makes sense that there might be some bad blood between the two of you. While this is not uncommon, in especially contentious cases, you may begin to develop concerns about your child’s other parent attempting to turn him or her against you. At Huson Law Firm, PLLC, we recognize that, in some cases, one parent’s efforts to turn a shared child against the other can constitute parental alienation, which is a dangerous behavior that can have a substantial and negative effect on your child.
Per Psychology Today, parental alienation can manifest when one parent makes it seem to a shared child that he or she has to “choose sides,” meaning the offending parent actually encourages the shared child’s rejection of the other parent. Parental alienation can also take on many other forms, and it does not always look the same from one family to the next.
Your child may be experiencing parental alienation tactics, for example, if his or her other parent prevents the child from contacting you or speaking about you. The offending parent may, too, falsely lead the shared child to believe that you are dangerous, bad or somehow damaging to him or her as part of the parent’s efforts to turn your child against you.
Whether your child’s other parent uses these tactics or other parental alienation tactics, it can have a substantial effect on your child’s emotions and well-being. In many instances, parental alienation can lead to low self-esteem, distrustfulness, depression and even self-hatred within your child. You can find more about custody and parenting time issues on our webpage.