Guest Author - Stephanie L Watson

Father's day is a very special day for many fathers all over the United States. It is a day where traditionally children make daddy breakfast in bed, give them funny ties, socks and new wallets. It is a day where children appreciate their daddy, letting him put his feet up and watch TV, giving him control of the remote.

It is also a very sad day for many Fathers across the country. Because it is a day for Fathers sometimes the absence of children can be felt even more powerfully. Most of the time it is mothers who have custody of their children and due to being at a distance or other factors all Dads can't be with their children on this special day.

Sometimes Dads aren't with their children because the Mother has kept their children from the dad. This makes it even harder on the children and dad when all over the news, the television, in the stores, Dad is being mentioned.

Parental Alienation (PAS) is a very serious issue today. It has become very prevalent in these times of no fault divorce and joint custody. Both parents can be guilty of PAS but today I want to concentrate on Fathers as the targeted parent.

Parental Alienation is when one parent actively seeks to vilify the other parent to the children and seek to have the child participate in their own abuse. Yes, PAS is child abuse. It is one of the worst kinds of child abuse there is because someday the child will be an adult, and the child will look back at their life through the eyes of an adult, with an adult's knowledge and reasoning, and that child will realize what the abusive parent did. Likely their relationship with the targeted parent has been ruined beyond repair, time gone cannot be brought back, and then the child will lose another parent too because they will be so hurt and angry at the abuser.

It is important as a society that we stand up and stop this type of abuse because it destroys children completely. It takes away the one place that should be safe, which is home. Create, for your children, a safe place to be. Co-parent your children together. Love your children more than you hate each other. Seek counseling to help if you need to.

If you know a father who is unable to be with his children on this special day, please offer him some words of encouragement and support on this day. If your children have a father help your children connect with their father on this day. Both parents are very important to children, no parent is better than the other, your children need both of you.