A lot of child custody disputes are contentious, but many of them are easily sorted out once the evidence is presented. That isn’t the case when parental alienation is involved. With parental alienation, your child is manipulated to disfavor you, and they can be left believing false allegations about you. It can therefore be difficult to prove that your child’s beliefs and actions are based on wrongdoing perpetrated by the other parent.
And if you can’t prove parental alienation, then the court may side with the other parent when they file a child custody modification that limits time with your kid.
So, what are you to do in these circumstances? The good news is that there are ways to gather evidence demonstrative of parental alienation that you can then use to convince the court that your child is being manipulated and harmed by the other parent’s actions. Let’s look at some of them here, as there’s no time to waste in building your parental alienation case.
Proving parental alienation in a child custody case
It might not be easy, but you can prove parental alienation. Here are some tips for doing so:
- Keep communications: Keep all emails and text messages. They might show that the other parent disparages you, even in front of your child. These communications can also be indicative of the lengths that the other parent will go to prevent you from having contact with your child. Be diligent here, but also be careful with what you say to the other parent. You don’t want to hand them evidence to use against you.
- Obtain witness testimony: Given that your child has been manipulated, the court may not take you at your word, as they might latch onto your child’s statements and behaviors towards you. Therefore, it’s to your benefit to have other witnesses testify about your bond with your child, your attempts to maintain a relationship with your child, and how the other parent has manipulated your kid. Just make sure these witnesses are credible so that they don’t end up doing more harm than good.
- Secure social media posts: The other parent might freely post on their social media page, talking poorly about you in a way that your child can see. This is a classic manipulation tactic, and it can alter the way your child views you and the way that you’ve cared for them in the past.
- Request an evaluation: Sometimes the best strategy is to have a third-party evaluate you, your child, and the other parent to give the court an unbiased perspective on what’s going on in your family. You can request a child custody evaluation where you receive a comprehensive assessment of your family and receive a custody recommendation, or you can simply try to get your child into therapy in hopes that the therapist can provide the court with valuable insight.
Aggressively fight to protect your child from parental alienation
Parental alienation is unfair and harmful. Some have even gone so far as to characterize it as a form of child abuse. You can’t sit back and let your child be subjected to it. That’s why now is the time to start gathering evidence to bring manipulative and alienating behavior to a stop. If you need guidance about the best way to do that, then be sure to read resources that may be helpful and wrap yourself in the support that you need to confidently navigate the process and secure the child custody order that protects your child’s best interests.