3 Points Fathers Should Know About Parental Alienation

Parental alienation, or malicious mother syndrome, isn’t an actual medical condition. It describes a mother who acts to try to turn the children against you to punish you for the divorce. She might try to convince the children that you are a bad person. She might relay negative things that happened during your marriage to make you seem like a bad person. She might try to convince the children that they are better off not seeing you. In more subtle cases, she may try subtle suggestions to get them to say they don’t want to go see you. In severe cases, she might physically attack you or forbid the children from having contact with you.

Effects of Parental Alienation

Essentially, the goal of your child’s mother is to make the children hate you so that they won’t want to have anything to do with you. Because the mother usually has significant influence over children, she may succeed in making them not want to have a relationship with you. This can mean that the time you spend with your child is very strained and unpleasant. It could also mean that you need to go back to court to get child custody orders changed.

Options for Dealing with Parental Alienation

If you aren’t allowed to see your children or if you know that their mother is doing something to sabotage your relationship with your children, you can take her to court. A trip to court might be necessary if she is violating the court order. The court could take steps to have her follow the order or the order could be modified so you will get to see your children. Since this is a touchy subject, it is best for you to find out your options and think about how each could affect your children.