From Staff reports

On April 10, Mayor Hollie Cost proclaimed April 23-29 as Parental Alienation Prevention Week in Montevallo.

In observance of the week, on April 25 at noon, the Alabama Family Rights Association requests citizens to take 10 minutes to blow “bubbles for love” in support of Parental Alienation Awareness.

Parental alienation is a term used to describe any number of behaviors and attitudes on the part of one parent, both parents, or a third party intended to interfere, damage or destroy the relationship a child has with their other parent.  It’s a form of abuse that causes emotional trauma to children.

Parental alienation can arise from divorce, child custody situations and even with intact families. Parental alienation is evidenced by the alienating behaviors of a person, such as a parent or family members, or as a result of the judicial system restricting the relationship between a child and a loving parent. Alienation can severely damage or destroy a child’s relationship with a parent.

According to Linda Kase-Gottlieb, LMFT, LCSW-r, the most common symptom of children affected by parental alienation “is a child’s rejection of a loving parent who has done nothing to warrant that rejection, and it is at the behest of the other parent.”

The ALFRA and Exchange Club of Shelby County are working to bring awareness to parental alienation, so every child is free to love both parents.