April 25th as Parental Alienation Awareness Day.
This brings the list to 16 states that have either declared or
recognized April 25th as Parental Alienation Awareness Day since the
Governors' campaign began in 2006.
Parental Alienation involves a series of behaviors, which may be either
subtle or overt, that can effectively alienate a child from a parent. These
behaviors are often seen in the context of divorce or custody cases, and
are consistently done by a third party, such as a parent or extended family
member.
These behaviors can include speaking negatively about a parent to, or
in front of, a child, interfering with communication and visitation, and
sharing inappropriate information with them, such as details of the
marriage, divorce, or court proceedings.
More severe behaviors may take the form of lying to the child about the
other parent, or telling the child the other parent doesn't love them.
Parental Alienation behaviors take advantage of the suggestibility and
dependency of children, out of anger, revenge, or ignorance, and research
has shown children exposed to such behaviors for extended periods may
suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and difficulty with their own
relationships.
Parental Alienation behaviors can effectively remove a child from the
family, the heritage, and the support of the targeted parent.
In effect, the child has lost a loving parent, but is given no
permission to grieve.
Alienating behaviors, under the term Parental Alienation, must be
recognized, understood, and addressed to allow a child to love and be loved
by both parents, regardless of the parents' relationship to each other.
Parental Alienation Awareness Advocate Robin Denison said, "We laud the
commitment of the above governors to the well-being of children and
families, and we urge all of our governors, legislators, mental health and
legal professionals, courts, educators, and the general public to learn
more about Parental Alienation."
For more information about Parental Alienation and Hostile Aggressive
Parenting, please visit: http://www.paawareness.org and
http://www.paao-
Members of the press or the general public may use the following
contact for interviews or information:
Robin Denison
Parental Alienation Awareness Advocate
robin.paawareness@
Miami, FL 33176
305-510-8664
