The Harsh Realities of Parental Alienation in Child Custody: A Divorce Lawyer’s Perspective
In child custody cases including folks who have been divorced for years, too often one parent belittles, criticizes, shuts out or verbally destroys the other parent in the eyes of their children. This is done for a myriad of reasons: to punish an ex-spouse that YOU hate, to gain sympathy and support from your child (not their role by the way), to try and get more child support (not worth ruining your kids) or because the alienating parent thinks the children “belong” to them i.e. “my son” or “my daughter”. As a divorce lawyer with 19 years experience, I have seen far more than my share of parental alienation. Trust me; it’s the children who pay the price in the long run. Try and remember that your child is NOT your therapist or your BFF and that when you are reaming your “Ex” you are talking about the other half of your child. You are destroying their impression of their “Father” or “Mother”. I have seen adorable graham cracker fisted 4 year olds turn into the angriest 14 years olds and even angrier (and guilt ridden) 24 years olds after years of living with the spin doctor alienator. Please don’t do this to your children. If you have to divorce, purpose to divorce with dignity.
Tags: child custody, Child Support, Divorce, divorce attorney colorado, divorce attorney denver, family law colorado, family law denver, fathers rights, parenting time
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 6:39 AM and is filed under Child Support, Common Law Marriage, Divorce, Legal Separation, Visitation, child custody, fathers rights, parental responsibilities, parenting.