WHAT IS PARENTAL ALIENATION AND
HOSTILE AGGRESSIVE PARENTING?

Parental alienation, sometimes called Hostile Aggressive Parenting, is a behavior by a parent, or an adult a child trusts, such as a grandmother/father, aunt, uncle, etc., whether conscious or unconscious, that could create alienation in the relationship between a child and a parent.

Parental alienation, or Hostile Aggressive Parenting, can be mild and temporary or extreme and ongoing. Most researchers believe that any alienation of a child against a parent is harmful to the child's emotional and mental health. Extreme, obsessive, and ongoing Parental Alienation can cause terrible psychological damage to children extending well into adulthood.

Click here to read letters from adult children of alienation.

Parental Alienation vs. Parental Alienation Syndrome

Parental Alienation focuses on the parents behavior as opposed to the alienated children's conditions, which is termed Parental Alienation Syndrome.
Richard Gardner defined Parental Alienation Syndrome as 'a disturbance in which children are preoccupied with deprecation and criticism of a parent-denigration that is unjustified and/or exaggerated.'

Parental Alienation is damaging to children, whether or not they reject a parent. It's important to recognize and stop the harmful behaviors of the adults before any 'symptoms' develop in the child, and before the behavior escalates to Parental Abduction or Parental Homocide.