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→Responding to children who resist spending time with a parent
==Responding to children who resist spending time with a parent==
It's usually important to take action when a child begins to resist spending time with a parent after separation, and many parents will want to start trying to find out what's going on for the child as soon as possible, perhaps when the child begins to demonstrate some of the more serious behaviours identified above, in the "Knowing when there's a problem" part of this section.
Hopefully, both parents will see the deterioration in the child's relationship with a parent as a problem. If that's the case, then their first steps should probably be to get help from a mental health professional with expertise in working with families and family breakdown. Because the problem isn't just the child's problem, it isn't just the child who will need to see the psychologist or counsellor. The favoured parent might need help supporting the child's relationship with the rejected parent and responding to the child's negative remarks about that parent. The parent the child doesn't want to see might need help coping with the rejection they may feel, rebuilding their relationship with the child and changing their approach to parenting.