How can you spot signs of parental alienation?

The time after a divorce can allow you and your children to flourish. However, there may be signs that your co-parent is trying to manipulate your relationship with your children.

Learning about alienation and recognizing subtle signs of it can help you determine what to do next.

Sharing private information

According to Psychology Today, you may notice your co-parent talking to your children about private and mature details regarding the divorce. He or she may try to make the divorce seem like it was entirely your fault or even lie about what you said in the past.

This kind of manipulation can make your children nervous to talk to you as time goes on. It can also warp your children’s opinions about you to the point that they do not think you are a good person.

Avoiding you

If your children are hiding invitations to school recitals or your co-parent always claims to forget to tell you about important dates and appointments for your children, then alienation may be happening. A co-parent that tells his or her children to not share important information is often trying to make it harder for you to participate in your children’s lives.

Your co-parent may also pick up your children early during your scheduled time together or drop them off late.

Limiting communication methods

As time goes on, your co-parent may subtly limit the amount of time your children can talk with you. Whether that means taking away their phones and computers so they cannot message you online or preventing them from seeing you in person, it can lead to a strained relationship.

Thankfully, noticing this kind of manipulation can help you find ways to document and prove this alienation in order to make it stop.