As someone making your way through a Georgia divorce, you may understand all too well just how much the situation between you and your one-time partner can change. Maybe you simply grew apart, or maybe one of you stepped out on your marriage, but if the relationship between you has gotten particularly ugly and the two of you share a child, you may start seeing signs of parental alienation.
Parental alienation occurs when one parent fosters and encourages a child’s rejection of the other parent, and regrettably, this is not at all uncommon in divorce. While parental alienation has the capacity to sour the relationship between you and your child, it can also have other substantial and negative effects when it comes to your child’s emotional and overall well-being. In fact, in some especially severe cases, parental alienation can even constitute abuse, and it can prove extremely isolating for the child. So, how may parental alienation manifest, and how do you know if your child’s other parent is attempting to turn him or her against you? The following are potential signs of parental alienation:
Limiting your child’s contact with you
If it seems your child is never available to spend time with you or even speak with you by phone, this could potentially indicate that parental alienation is at play. If you are a noncustodial parent, you may have good reason to feel concerned when your child’s other parent seeks to minimize your son or daughter’s contact with you, as you will have little recourse unless you initiate paternity or custody proceedings.
Forbidding your child to speak about you
Your former partner may, too, attempt to alienate your child from you by forbidding him or her to speak about you in the other parent’s presence. He or she may, too, for example, ask that your child remove any pictures of you he or she has in the home. Similarly, the other parent may ask your child to get rid of any presents or special items you gave him or her in an attempt to eradicate you from the child’s life.
While these are two possible signs of parental alienation, please note that this is not a complete list of all behaviors that may fall under this umbrella.