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Community Corner

Letter to the Editor: 'Parental Alienation is a Reality'

It takes a village to stop this form of 'emotional child abuse.'

There is now a Pennsylvania State Chapter - Parental Alienation Awareness Organization (PAAO) Facebook page. It was started to help support those moms and dads whose bonds have been severed through relational aggression by the opposite parent in custody cases. One goal for PAAO is to have a support group in every state that can help with emotional support, create awareness and educate anyone interested in helping to protect children from “parental alienation,” a form of emotional child abuse.

Advocating for children, young adults and targeted parents can be emotionally draining at times, but parental alienation is a reality. Turning ones’ back on parental alienation is turning ones’ back on child abuse.

There are countless children aligned exclusively with one parent, rejecting the other with no justification. This is developmentally, emotionally, and mentally unhealthy for the children and heartbreaking for the left-behind parents.

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Teachers, counselors, coaches, judges, lawyers, friends and neighbors can all be part of the solution if willing. Reunification is possible. It starts with awareness and education about parental alienation and most importantly, a concern for the best interest of children.

 Over the years, PAAO has developed many connections with people who are well- versed in parental alienation. These connections include psychologists, a family court judge, and child advocates, to name a few.

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Peer-reviewed articles have been written, educational YouTube videos created, books published, informative blogs shared and Web sites developed.

But the experts are the loving parents who have lived through the nightmare of watching their children being used as tools of revenge. These parents know what alienation looks and feels like. They are parents who, at first, could not comprehend the changes that were taking place with their children’s behavior.

But, through education and awareness, these rejected parents now understand this form of emotional abuse and how children’s minds can be manipulated and brainwashed. These parents also realize that it is vital for others to understand the impact of parental alienation so they can help these rejected parents and their children reconnect. It takes a village of caring people to accomplish this.

Children and parents need your help. There is power in numbers. Let’s empower parents and children in a healthy way and help eliminate parental alienation, a form of emotional child abuse.

Hatboro resident Daniel Holmes started a support group for parents afflicted by parental alienation and most recently joined other parents in launching a Pennsylvania chapter of the Parental Alienation Awareness Organization.

Cindy Corsi-Smith co-authored this piece. Corsi-Smith is a co-president of the Pennsylvania chapter of Parental Alienation Awareness Organization. 

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