“Kentucky Families Have an Anniversary to Celebrate on April 26”

by Matt Hale

Every family has its traditions and many, such as Easter or Cinco de Mayo, we share in common. But now, all families in Kentucky have a day to celebrate with pride. One year ago on April 26th, Kentucky became the first state in the country to officially declare that children deserve both parents by passing the Shared Parenting Law. To celebrate the anniversary, the state of Kentucky has just officially proclaimed April 26th as Shared Parenting Day.

April 26th is a special day because it is the day Governor Bevin signed the bill into law. But, it is even more special than that. For many years, Kentucky has acknowledged the day before as anything but a celebration. April 25th is the day we acknowledge one of the most painful things children and families suffer – parental alienation. Parental alienation is defined as “a child’s experience of being manipulated by one parent to turn against the other (targeted) parent and resist contact with him or her” (APA).