Parental alienation is an extreme and serious phenomenon, far beyond the casual, random sniping parents indulge in that is so common in custody cases. While parental alienation has always existed, only recently have family courts begun to take notice of the issue when it occurs, to recognize that it is profoundly harmful to any child or children caught in the middle of a custody case, and to understand that serious measures must be taken to remedy the situation.
“Parental alienation” in a formal sense occurs when one parent engages in an overwhelming, intentional campaign to cause a child or children to reject the other parent entirely without a valid cause. Identifying parental alienation is often counterintuitive. Any judge or juror would tend to assume that, if a child immensely dislikes one parent, a valid reason must exist for this strong distaste. Such a hypothetical judge or juror will tend to suspect that the child has suffered some kind of abuse or neglect at the hands of the rejected parent.
