Divorcing with children can be a worrying prospect for parents in Virginia and anywhere in the United States. When the relationship between partners comes to an end, one of the most difficult tasks can be developing a proper co-parenting relationship that fully respects both parents’ bonds with their children and protects the children from emotional trauma during divorce. Child support and child custody issues can arise during almost any divorce, but some splits can be far more combative and divisive.
Parental alienation, in which one parent directs a child’s anger or hatred against the other parent or otherwise attempts to exclude them entirely from the child’s life, is one such traumatic action. Parental alienation goes far beyond some complaining, crying or grouchiness. Rather, it is a dedicated campaign that can strike at the heart of a parent-child bond and have a lifelong impact.
There are some warning signs to look out for when it comes to parental alienation. Deliberate exclusion from a child’s life events can be one of them, including removing one parent from contact lists at schools, activities or health care providers or excluding them from parent-teacher conferences. It can also mean encouraging a child’s anger and hatred to be directed at the other parent to the extent that the child may demand the alienated parent get out of their life.
Of course, parental alienation can be on the more extreme end of negative repercussions after a divorce. Whether a divorcing parent is struggling with the threat of parental alienation or simply seeking to attain appropriate child support and custody agreements, a family law attorney can provide important guidance and representation. A family law lawyer can help divorcing parents to protect their relationships with their children and co-parent successfully.