Sharing custody with your ex isn’t easy, but if they have a bad attitude toward you, that can make things even harder to handle. A bitter ex might threaten to call the police if you ever get stuck in traffic on your way to a custody exchange or constantly come up with excuses to cancel your parenting time.
They might also engage in parental alienation, which is a methodical attempt to disrupt your relationship with your children, turning them against you. What are some of the warning signs of parental alienation?
Your children know too much about your divorce or your marriage
You can tell the children the truth without disclosing everything bad about your relationship. When a marriage ends due to infidelity or other major issues, the spouse who feels wronged might tell the children all of the salacious details. However, that information won’t just harm the relationship that the children have with their other parent. It can also damage their self-esteem. If your ex tells them too much or outright lies about things, that is a real cause for concern.
Your ex claims with the children don’t want to see or talk to you
Blaming the children is a common tactic when one parent unfairly interferes in the parenting time of the other. If your children begin to avoid conversations or time with you, that could also be a sign that they have begun to internalize the toxic narrative that your ex continues to share with them.
If your children have said that they don’t want to spend time with you and you suspect that your ex has influenced their perception of you, that alienation may only get worse with time. Fortunately, if you can demonstrate the behavior to the court, a judge may alter the original custody agreement to help protect your relationship with your kids. The more you know about your rights and how to prevent a compelling case, the better chance you have of succeeding.