If you share parenting duties with your former spouse, you likely face a few different challenges. Still, your ex-spouse should not actively undercut your parenting. He or she also should not try to make your kids resent you. If either routinely happens, you may be the victim of parental alienation.
Parental alienation happens when one parent intentionally encourages the kids to despise the other parent. This is a serious matter for child custody in New York. That is, parental alienation often includes mental or emotional manipulation that runs counter to the kids’ best interests. While this type of conduct may vary, it is unacceptable. If you need to document wrongful behaviors, social media posts may be excellent evidence of parental alienation.
Posts from your children
Your kids may have a social media presence that you can monitor. If you have access to the online posts of the young ones in your family, you can look for evidence of parental alienation. For example, your child may openly attack you online. Alternatively, he or she may express anger or resentment in less-direct terms. While some rebellious rantings are likely not to concern you much, a pattern of alienated posts should raise red flags.
Posts from your ex-spouse
While restraint is usually advisable, your former partner is free to post whatever he or she likes to Facebook, Twitter or any other platform. If your kids have access to the content, though, your ex-spouse should not disparage you. Evidence of negative remarks may demonstrate that your former partner is attempting to harm your parent-child relationship.
If you are the victim of parental alienation, you must act quickly to stop the damage. While there are other types of important evidence, social media may be a treasure trove. If you find proof that your former spouse is trying to alienate your kids, seeking a modification of the custody arrangement may become essential.