Alienation Games - The Tactics Used By A Parental Alienator

Child Custody is not a game, but some parents, those who want to alienate the other parent, play games to create an environment that will alienate or estrange the child from the other parent. For the accomplished player, who is as skilled as Kobe Bryant on the Los Angeles Lakers, there are many ways to “win”.

The first thing that happens in a parental alienation case is that the information about the child stops or is monitored by the alienating parent. They screen the calls, intercept emails, prevent schools and doctors from sharing information and then blame the target parent for not knowing, which means they are a negligent, uncaring parent.

The use passive/aggressive mind-games to start attacking the targeted parent and make them unsure of themselves and their parenting skills. This puts stress on the parent/child relationship and makes the child unsure of the parent.

Next they either parentify the child or infantilize them. So the child either feels superior to the targeted parent because they are now taking care of the alienator’s emotional needs and have replaced the target parent, alternatively, they are made too dependent upon the alienator for emotional stability and are constantly attempting to feel secure with the alienator who is actually quite insecure themselves.

Step-parent enrollment is also a key tactic, as they are now “replacing” the targeted parent. Common tricks here include the adoption of the name of the new step-father, or adoption of the traits of the new step-mother such as hair and makeup or dietary and exercise routines.