FROM STAFF REPORTS

HARPERSVILLE – Harpersville Mayor Don Greene has proclaimed April 22-28 as Parental Alienation Prevention Week and April 25 as Parental Alienation Awareness “Bubbles For Love” Day.

At noon on April 25, ALFRA and the Exchange Club of Shelby County request residents take 10 minutes to blow Bubbles for Love in support of Parental Alienation Awareness in an effort to educate the public about this form of child abuse.

Parental alienation is a term used to describe any number of behaviors and attitudes on the part of one parent, both parents, or third party designed 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, 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. 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 Alabama Family Rights Association and Exchange Club of Shelby County are working to bring awareness to parental alienation, so “every child is free to love both parents.”