Shared Parenting Laws: A Solution To End ‘Parental Alienation’?

In cases of divorce or separation, children often fall victims to a common concept that promotes conflict among parents, traumatizing kids in the process. That's why a charitable and educational organization known as the National Parents Organization is promoting shared parenting because it believed that no child should endure the difficulty of choosing between his or her parents after a divorce or separation.

Maintaining a strong bond between children and their parents is exceptionally vital to the emotional, mental and physical well-being of kids. In celebration of the National Parental Awareness Day on Monday, April 25, National Parents Organization is calling for a family law reform that will promote shared parenting.

"I urge legislators in all states to back shared parenting," National Parents Organization founder and board chair Dr. Ned Holstein said, as per Globe Newswire. "With shared parenting, it is difficult for anyone to turn the child against a parent with whom the child experiences frequent loving care. Shared parenting decreases these tragic cases of parental alienation."

Shared Parenting

In an acrimonious and winner-take-all custody battle, Holstein explained the courts usually give sole custody to one parent. Due to this, the winning parent has the power to instill negative thoughts to a child's mind against the "non-custodial" parent who often has lesser time to spend with a child.

To stop this unavoidable practice, Holstein is urging lawmakers around the country to pass shared parenting laws. But what exactly is shared parenting?

Shared parenting is defined as a collaborative arrangement in a child custody in cases of divorce and separation. According to Family Lives, shared parenting means both parents have the right and responsibility of being actively involved in raising a child with love and guidance from them.

Shared Parenting Laws

Due to the parental alienation, several states including Missouri are contemplating a legislation that promotes shared parenting. The law will reportedly allow children to spend equal time with each parent after a divorce or separation.

Aside from Missouri, the states of Minnesota, Utah and South Dakota have also joined the campaign in passing shared parenting laws. With that said, Holstein hopes that someday the nation won't be commemorating the National Parental Alienation Awareness Da. Instead, it would be replaced with National Happy Children Day.

Parental Alienation

People often hear the term "parental alienation" after a bitter divorce or separation. As defined by Connie Lupichuk of Aspire Too Counseling and Professional Services, parental alienation is the ability of a parent to manipulate or brainwash a child's mind to hate and exclude the other parent from his or her life.

"[Parental alienation] is a distinctive family response to divorce in which one parent forms an alliance with the child or children against the other parent through a campaign of hatred and denigration," Lupichuk told the Star Phoenix.

Is Parental Alienation A Crime?

Meanwhile, child rights activist and Child Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP) president Kumar V. Jahgirdar is urging the central government of India to declare parental alienation as a crime. Jahgirdar is also pushing shared parenting to be made mandatory to protect the rights of the children, Zee News reports.

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