Parents who are in the midst of divorce in Minnesota should watch their children for signs of parental alienation. This form of abuse can occur when one parent exerts influence over their kids in an effort to control their actions and feelings towards their other parent. According to Cooperative Parenting, the relationship between the parent who is being victimized can be interrupted and destroyed by the actions of the parent who is acting as the abuser. As a result, the whole family suffers from the impact of the situation when the kids are completely alienated from their innocent parent.
Often times, the goal of the alienator is to get their kids to completely reject their other parent, which serves as a form of humiliation and keeps them from having a happy, healthy and loving relationship with their kids, states Prental-Alienation.info. It is crucial for parents to be able to recognize the signs of parental alienation so they can fight back to prevent it. Common signs of this situation include:
- Always feeling and acting tense, angry and hostile towards the innocent parent. Children may resort to using negative and controlling behavior and language towards the innocent parent in an effort to estrange them.
- Kids acting ambivalent towards their other parent. They are not able to remember or describe anything good or bad about them.
- Kids exhibiting the actions and adapting the language of the alienating parent and using them against the other parent.
The discord between parents and their children is not created when the divorce begins. It is often present when the relationship between the parents starts to breakdown before the separation begins.
Parental alienation can affect the whole family dynamic and can irrevocably damage the bond between parents and their children. Early recognition of the symptoms of parental alienation and the right treatment strategies can help to lessen the effects of the situation.