To Parents Who Are Emotionally Abusive
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Politics and Activism

To Parents Who Are Emotionally Abusive

Parental abuse is not only physical; Emotional abuse is real and it needs to be recognized.

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To Parents Who Are Emotionally Abusive
Nicole Gusse


Emotionally abusive parents sometimes don't know that they are being abusive towards their children. Sometimes they do know, but make no effort to fix their behavior. Because of this, many people suffer from the effects of emotional abuse coming from their families. It's a serious issue that causes problems for people later on in their lives.

To parents that are emotionally abusive or overly controlling of your children's lives, you need to consider the fact that you may be causing your kid to be mentally unstable now and in the future. It's not something that will go away once they move out, either. Constant emotional abuse and acting like a tyrant of a parent will only worsen your relationship with your children and make them develop issues such as anxiety or depression, and those things will stay with them forever.

In case you're wondering, emotional abuse can come in several forms. Blaming everything on your child, such as your financial situation or the fact that you work hard as a parent to support them, in order to make them feel guilty, is one thing that can be harmful to them emotionally. Making a child feel guilty because of their needs can make them extremely self conscious and afraid to even ask for their most basic needs for survival. You are a parent, you chose to have the child and it is your duty to care for them. They owe you nothing for simply existing. They didn't ask to be born, did they? Stop shaming them for needing food, shelter, clothing, or other necessities just because you dislike having that responsibility. An example of this is when a parent says something along the lines of "I provide you with food and a roof over your head and this is how you repay me?". Here's the thing; A child does not need to nor has the means to "repay you" because you do the absolute minimum of what a parent needs to do for their kids. Taking care of them, providing them with food, clothing, shelter, and a place to sleep at night does not mean they should grovel at your feet.

Another form of emotional abuse is when a parent controls every single aspect of their kid's life. I'm talking about parents that don't let their kid leave the house, wear the clothes they like and feel comfortable in just because they're a different style from what the parent would choose, not permitting their kid to dye their hair or cut it the way they choose, having their passwords to their phones and all their social media accounts so that they can see every interaction they make, and so on. For one, none of this guarantees that their kid won't get into their fair share of trouble or that it will make them a good person. They only become better at sneaking around to do what they want and become rebellious because otherwise, they won't be able to live their lives on their own terms. It makes the kid feel that they cannot trust the parent. Parents that have a tyrannical rule over their kids destroy their mental health and it makes it so much more difficult for them to function in society when they move out of the house because they're used to always being controlled, told what to do and how to act, and they become extremely anxious about everything on top of that. With every little move they make, they will still feel that fear that they felt at home.

Some parents see some of these forms of emotional abuse as "raising their child the right way" or "raising them to be respectful", but that's not correct at all. Blaming the child for everything, screaming at them for an hour because they forgot to do some chores, controlling every single part of their lives, belittling them, and otherwise making them feel guilty for existing or not being perfect does NOTHING positive for them. To any parents that abuse their children emotionally, I hope you see the error of your ways and attempt to fix it before they walk away only to never speak to you again, because it's likely that when they think of you they're only reminded of the emotional torture you put them through.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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