Parentificaiton in Parental Alienation Cases

Parental Alienation cases require a complete analysis of the family dynamics to determine what is really going on with the child custody, but one of the easiest dynamics to determine is Parentification of the child.

This is a role reversal, where the child is now taking care of the emotional needs of the parent. This is child abuse and has disastrous long term effects on the child’s abiltiy to form proper adult relationships.

Parentifying a child robs the child of not just the normal childhood experiences and joys of youth, but it causes the child to feel guilt and shame when they are unable to provide the emotional support for their parent that they feel obligated to deliver. A child does not have the emotional equipment to confront and resolve the hurts and stresses of being an adult, and to expect them to be able to, causes a sense of failure which translates into low self-esteem which will affect all future relationships.