The Problem of Parental Hostility and Alienationis that separate, divorce or are in a custody dispute, it is not unusual for one or both to hold some hard feelings about the other. Ideally, parents will work through those feelings while insulating their children from the conflict. Even with the best of intentions, on occasions a parent may make inappropriate statements or take inappropriate actions. The more parents involve their children in their hostility, the more likely it is that they children will feel pressured to agree with negative statements, to adopt a negative view of the targeted parent, or to become alienated from the targeted parent. more... See more text