I'm a clinical social worker.  My boyfriend has been separated from his ex-wife for about a year.  His ex-wife has been keeping the children from him for 3 weeks so far.  His children are 8 and 6 years old.  She has been telling the children that they are not safe with their father. He was coaching his son's hockey team.  She would speak badly of him to the parents of the players to the point where a meeting had to be held and she was spoken to.  He had no choice but to remove himself from coaching his son's hockey team because of the gaslighting she was subjecting him to.  His son hides from his mother when calling his father.  He tells his father that his mother told him that he wouldn't see his father for a while because he and his sister are not safe with him.  His son has told him that he was confused. His daughter has been requesting to see her father several times but was denied.  She has talked to her former mother-in-law in a public gym, swearing at her and telling her that she would spend all her money to make sure that she and my boyfriend don't see the children again.  My boyfriend wants to have 50/50 custody of his children.  He has received no support from his lawyer.  Child Protection Services were contacted by a few people, and they will investigate.

As mental health social worker who has worked with children and is now working with adults, I have met with client whose mother alienated them from their father.  They must seek mental health support to understand why their mother did what she did.  They also have resentment towards their mother for robbing them of time they could have spent with their father.  My boyfriend's children are young and don't understand why they can't see their father.  Parental alienation has a big impact on the alienated parent but a huge impact on the children.  These kids grow up with low self- esteem and self-hatred, lack of trust, depression, and substance abuse.  If the children remain in their mother's care and she doesn't stop alienating their father, the children will think that their father has abandoned them.  The alienation has become more extreme over time.

It is adamant that immediate action be taken to provide help to alienated parents and children.  The bond between a child and his parents is very important for their development.  For children to have to pick a parent over the other is horrendous.  Parental alienation must be recognized and taken seriously by the family court.  Action needs to be taken by our justice system to put a stop to parental alienation.  This issue is serious and may have irreparable consequences for the alienated parent and the children.  As much as a parent love their children, the gaslighting, lies and false allegations, can cause a lot of anxiety for the alienated parent where they must take a step back from fighting for their children to preserve a healthy mental health.  Imagine grieving the loss of your children that are still alive.  This is an awful reality, and something needs to be done.  The law must recognize parental alienation as a crime.  «Parental alienation is a set of strategies that a parent uses to foster a child’s rejection of the other parent.  Parental alienation syndrome develops in children who come to hate, fear and reject the targeted parent as someone unworthy of having a relationship with them».  Imagine grieving the loss of your children that are still alive.