Reflections on Father's Day (and Mother's Day)

Father's Day, (and Mother's day) is set aside to honor our parents who have

worked hard to love and care for us. It's something that's very natural for
children of all ages to want to do. We love our parents, and we want to do something special to honor them, even if it's just a card, and a token gift. We want them to know it comes from the heart.

But, a recent news story aired on Channel 12 Long Island, N.Y.,
which featured Linda Gottlieb (who I wrote about last week), is a reminder of a difficult truth far too many people are still unwilling to see, or take the time to care about.

Alienated children and their parents are denied the opportunity
to share this wonderful experience, not just on Father's Day, and Mother's Day,
but every other day as well.

Most people who haven't experienced the difficulty of being alienated from someone they love have no real idea of how incredibly painful it can be, and would rather not think about it. But, that's one of the reasons I'm sitting here writing this today, to ask you to please take the time to ask yourself why you would rather not think about it.

It's very easy to say that these issues are someone else's personal
issues, and you should stay out of it.

Then again, depression, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, kidnapping, bullying, innocent children being brainwashed by religious cults, and false accusations made against others, could all also be considered someone else's personal issues that don't concern you. But, if you knew it happened to your neighbor, or a friend, you would care. Even if you didn't intervene, you would still think it is terrible, and you would care.

I pointed out those examples for a reason. All of the parental alienation experts now agree that alienating a child from a parent that loves and cares about them can often involve at least six of the eight examples above, in one form or another. That's a difficult pill to swallow, but it is a reality for far too many children and their parents.

I'm not saying you should necessarily intervene in these situations, I'm just asking you to care, and let the people who are being affected know you care. It's difficult enough have a parent, or child emotionally removed from your life, it's even worse when no one seems to care.

Please do something special for someone who's estranged from
someone they love this summer. Be their friend, or maybe reinitiate a
friendship you once had with them and no longer have, and just let them know you care.