17 behaviors worth documenting clearly.
Baker’s taxonomy gives families and professionals a shared vocabulary. It is a way to describe observable actions—not a diagnosis, and not a shortcut to a legal conclusion.
Shared taxonomy version 1.0.0
Start with observations
Name what happened. Preserve the context.
For each behavior, record the date, the people present, exact words where possible, and what evidence exists. Also record what you did and what happened next.
Badmouthing the other parent
Negative, demeaning, or hostile statements about the other parent made to or within earshot of the child.
Read the behavior guide →Limiting contact
Actions that reduce scheduled, ordinary, or spontaneous contact between the child and the other parent.
Read the behavior guide →Interfering with communication
Blocking, monitoring, redirecting, or disrupting calls, texts, messages, or other direct communication.
Read the behavior guide →Interfering with symbolic communication
Blocking photos, gifts, cards, mentions, or other ordinary reminders of the other parent.
Read the behavior guide →Withdrawal of love or conditional approval
Withholding affection, approval, or belonging when the child shows warmth toward the other parent.
Read the behavior guide →Telling the child the parent does not love them
Statements or repeated suggestions that the other parent does not love, want, or care about the child.
Read the behavior guide →Forcing the child to choose
Direct or indirect pressure requiring the child to demonstrate loyalty to one parent over the other.
Read the behavior guide →Telling the child the parent is dangerous
Presenting the other parent as unsafe, threatening, or harmful without a substantiated, child-relevant basis.
Read the behavior guide →Confiding in the child about adult or court matters
Sharing litigation, financial, relationship, or other adult information that places the child in an adult role.
Read the behavior guide →Forcing the child to reject the other parent
Directing, scripting, rewarding, or otherwise pressuring the child to refuse or denounce the other parent.
Read the behavior guide →Asking the child to spy
Requesting information about the other parent, household, or activities for use in adult conflict or litigation.
Read the behavior guide →Asking the child to keep secrets
Instructing the child to conceal information from the other parent or carry adult secrets.
Read the behavior guide →Referring to the parent by first name
Consistently replacing a parent title with a first name in a way that diminishes the parent role.
Read the behavior guide →Referring to a step-parent as “Mom” or “Dad”
Encouraging a child to use a parental title for a step-parent while displacing or erasing the other parent.
Read the behavior guide →Withholding medical, academic, or other information
Failing to share or actively blocking access to information needed for the other parent to participate in care.
Read the behavior guide →Changing the child’s name to remove association
Changing, shortening, or modifying the child’s name to reduce connection with the other parent.
Read the behavior guide →Cultivating dependency or undermining autonomy
Encouraging excessive dependence or portraying the child’s independent relationship with the other parent as disloyal.
Read the behavior guide →Ready to organize what you observed?
Open the Behaviors Checklist →Educational decision support only—not legal, medical, clinical, diagnostic, or custody advice. Read the full scope disclaimer.