Are you dealing with a spouse who is telling lies to your children? If you are, you are not alone. Unfortunately, some divorcing spouses engage in dirty, underhanded tactics. A husband, for example, may lie in court, claiming that his wife is a drug addict and incapable of looking after their children. A wife, in turn, may falsely claim that her husband abused her during the marriage and he continues to stalk her.
In both cases, the spouses resorted to false claims as a means of hurting each other and advancing their own agendas. Whether a court ultimately believes either spouse is open to debate.
Perhaps even worse, some spouses spread lies to their children. Children are highly impressionable and may lack the ability to separate truth from fiction. This means that when one parent lies to the child about the other parent, the child is likely to believe the lies. Parents may succeed in poisoning a child’s mind against the other parent, resulting in a condition sometimes referred to as “parental alienation.” Under such circumstances, one parent attempts to alienate the child from the other parent through lies or other forms of manipulation. The parent who is the victim of these lies and manipulation (along with the child) faces a difficult and highly uncertain position. After all, how does one provide tangible proof in court that the other parent manipulated the child?
While parental alienation is difficult to prove, those facing it should not lose heart. It is possible to successfully combat alienation by remaining calm, refraining from retaliation, and carefully documenting evidence wherever possible. Over time, a case can be built and the truth about a parent will eventually become clear in the eyes of both the court and the child.