Parental alienation is a term that can have different meanings to different people and in different settings. Basically it describes a systematic process by which one parent engages in behavior that alienates the children from the other parent. Sadly, children are often used as pawns in a divorce. A parent will sometimes do anything to get children on their side and use that to hurt the other parent. Any tactics you use to alienate your children from your spouse are problematic.

In some cases, children may come to have negative feelings about a parent because of what they have seen and heard while living in the household. Children develop feelings of their own toward parents as a result of their experiences and how they are treated. Negative feelings toward one parent or the other are not necessarily a result of brainwashing; rather, they are normal emotions in the context of a family going through divorce. Children's normal feelings should never be ignored or confused with parental alienation.

While the idea originally received a lot of attention in the context of child custody disputes, it has more frequently been labeled junk science in court. As a result, many courts will not even hear the allegation. Even as recently as 2005, the American Psychological Association stated that it did not have an official position on parental alienation syndrome, further calling into question its usefulness in the context of custody.