“My child is being turned against me” - Parental alienation: what it is, and how to deal with it

What is parental alienation?

Parental alienation is a term used to describe the situation where a child becomes resistant or hostile towards one parent, without justification, and as a result of actions taken by the other parent.

What are the signs of parental alienation?

Some signs of parental alienation include:

• A child refusing to spend time with one parent, even though they used to have a good relationship.
• The child saying negative things about that parent, often repeating what the other parent has said.
• The child showing no positive feelings toward the parent they’re avoiding.
• The child wrongly perceiving the parent they’re avoiding as “dangerous”.

How do the Family Courts deal with cases where this is an issue?

In December 2024, the Family Justice Council issued comprehensive guidance titled “Responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour.”

In this guidance the Family Justice Council highlighted that Parental Alienation Syndrome is not a ‘condition’ recognised by the Family Courts. The guidance also uses the phrase ’alienating behaviours’ as a more helpful term to describe what the court looks for in these situations. However, in this article we use also the phrase ‘parental alienation’ as that is commonly used by the public.

The guidance says that in order to assess whether there are alienating behaviours in the case, the Court should look at whether:

1. The child is reluctant, resisting or refusing to engage in, a relationship with a parent or carer AND
2. the reluctance, resistance or refusal is not a justified rejection by the child (which might be the case, for example, if the child is avoiding a parent because they have been abused by them) or is not caused by any other factor such as the child’s alignment or attachment to the other parent AND
3. the other parent has engaged in behaviours that have impacted on the child leading to the child’s rejection of the parent

The guidance also highlights that where parental alienation is an issue in the case, this should be made clear to the Court at as early a stage as possible, because it is likely to impact the procedure followed by the Court when dealing with the case.

My child is being turned against me - what can I do about this?

Early identification and intervention matters. Parents and legal professionals must be vigilant in recognising signs of alienating behaviours and act swiftly to protect the child’s right to maintain meaningful relationships with both parents, where safe and appropriate.

Our family law team is experienced in handling complex child arrangements and disputes involving allegations of parental alienation. 
If you are concerned about alienating behaviours or facing allegations yourself, contact us for expert legal advice and support.