Not all divorced parents get along with each other. After all, they are divorced for a reason. However, you may wonder if something is seriously wrong if your ex appears to be making attempts to keep your children from having a relationship with you. You and other California residents in the same situation may want to learn about parental alienation syndrome.
As Psychology Today explains, parental alienation syndrome defines a series of behaviors that are common when one parent tries to turn the kids against the other parent. This behavior is harmful and not normal, as you may suspect, but unfortunately, it is also not uncommon.
If your ex engages in any of the following behaviors, he or she may be attempting to alienate the children from you:
- Giving the children the impression that they must choose sides
- Blowing disagreements out of proportion or making up false scenarios to make you look bad to others
- Trying to recruit other people to take his or her side
- Sabotaging your visitation time with the kids
Your children deserve to have a relationship with you. In fact, they need it. Psychologists say that children can suffer long-term mental health effects when they are alienated from one parent. As you know, it can also be heartbreaking for you when you miss out on time with your kids through no choice of your own. Since this topic can be complicated and usually necessitates experienced legal counsel, this blog post should not replace the advice of a lawyer.