by Lisa Fogarty
Image: Daniel Grill/Getty Images
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Here's what happens when parents gaslight their own kids
Parents are just as flawed and complex as everybody else, and no matter how hard we try, our negative traits are going to affect our children in one way or another. Gaslighting is an especially egregious form of psychological abuse and one that's pretty darn complicated, because the person doing it is usually totally oblivious to their behaviors. When you gaslight your kid (or anyone else), you're essentially setting them up to make them feel angry or upset and then manipulating them to make them believe they have zero reason to actually be emotional.
More: 8 Signs you're dangerously close to gaslighting your partner
In other words, you make them feel, over and over again, like they're going crazy. The word itself comes from a 1938 play called Gaslight, in which a husband dims the gas-powered lights in their home every evening and then vehemently denies it when his wife asks about the change she notices. What does the protagonist get out of such a ridiculous game? A feeling of control and power.
"Parents gaslight their children when either they lose touch with what antecedents are triggering them or purposefully set up antecedents to trigger their children — set them up to fail, that is," says Cara Itule, a licensed psychotherapist at the Diagnostic and Counseling Center with 18 years' experience working with children. "The etiology of a gas-lighter parent can range from many different backgrounds. The parent can be a very overwhelmed parent, self-involved or narcissistic parent, uneducated or low-intelligence parent or an immature parent."
You'll find the words "gaslighting" and "narcissistic personality disorder" go hand in hand, as a person with this type of mental disorder has an inflated sense of self and needs and craves attention but may secretly feel vulnerable and ashamed of themselves — she or he also feels intense hurt when someone criticizes them, which explains why it's often so difficult for narcissist parents to even realize they are gaslighting their kids.
More: Parenting's dirty little secret
If left unchecked, long-term effects of gaslighting can leave the child feeling highly insecure, bitter, inflexible, anxious and aggressive, Itule says. "They grow up to be unsure of their place in the world, develop inferiority issues or seem highly paranoid and mistrusting of others," she says. "They may be more susceptible to abusive relationships as adults."
If you're unsure whether you're gaslighting your kid, here are six signs that may convince you to seek help:
1. You exaggerate every conflict: There's never a small issue; every single thing your child does wrong causes you to fly off the handle and react. Whether your toddler lied about going potty or your teen lied about stealing the car, both can set you off in a way that makes your children question whether there is any sense or logic to your anger. As a result, your kids may purposely begin keeping more from you because they never know what's going to set you off.
2. A meter maid is more flexible than you: You will not allow for any changes in your household routine, no matter how small. You need to feel completely in control of your environment at all times, which sometimes means you get unreasonably angry when your toddler refuses to take his nap at the hour that is best for you and your needs.
3. You mock your kids' behaviors: Itule provides the following example to explain how a parent can gaslight a young child by humiliating her for having feelings:
“Sally is 3 and is crying because she wants to go to the park, but it's raining outside, so they can't go," Itule says. "Sally is upset and frustrated. Her mother, Jill, is frustrated that her child won't stop whining, so she turns emphatically and mocks her by pretending she's Sally: 'Wah, wah, I want to go the park. I'm crying like a little baby. Nope!' Sally then feels confused, sad and highly distressed. She cries even harder, loses control and falls to the ground in a complete meltdown. Mom walks away from her child."
4. You overassert your power: As the parent, you're already the one in control of mostly everything, but that may not feel like enough for you. The moment you sense your child is flexing her wings and asserting control over herself, you feel fear that this could mean she may one day not need you or may no longer view you as the center of her universe. You combat this by talking crap about all of her friends, none of which are "good enough" for her, and continually sending her the message that she is helpless without your guidance.
More: 9 Red flags your partner is totally guilty of gaslighting you
5. You insist you know your child better than he knows himself: No one, not even your frustrated kid, can convince you that you may actually be wrong about his feelings and intentions. If you have it in your mind that he is responding a certain way because he's angry or sad, you'll tell him he's lying or isn't grown-up enough to understand himself if he fights back and tries to tell you otherwise.
6. You never apologize to your kids: Saying "I'm sorry," to you, is the equivalent of surrendering all your power and having no worth as an individual. As the parent, you feel you never need to apologize and will typically wait as long as it takes for your child to come to you after a conflict — no matter who is actually at fault. Never owning your mistakes sends your kids the message that they can do very little right in life and that they aren't worthy of an apology.
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children parenting
http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1127674/gaslighting-your-child
Image: Daniel Grill/Getty Images
Here's what happens when parents gaslight their own kids
Parents are just as flawed and complex as everybody else, and no matter how hard we try, our negative traits are going to affect our children in one way or another. Gaslighting is an especially egregious form of psychological abuse and one that's pretty darn complicated, because the person doing it is usually totally oblivious to their behaviors. When you gaslight your kid (or anyone else), you're essentially setting them up to make them feel angry or upset and then manipulating them to make them believe they have zero reason to actually be emotional.
More: 8 Signs you're dangerously close to gaslighting your partner
In other words, you make them feel, over and over again, like they're going crazy. The word itself comes from a 1938 play called Gaslight, in which a husband dims the gas-powered lights in their home every evening and then vehemently denies it when his wife asks about the change she notices. What does the protagonist get out of such a ridiculous game? A feeling of control and power.
"Parents gaslight their children when either they lose touch with what antecedents are triggering them or purposefully set up antecedents to trigger their children — set them up to fail, that is," says Cara Itule, a licensed psychotherapist at the Diagnostic and Counseling Center with 18 years' experience working with children. "The etiology of a gas-lighter parent can range from many different backgrounds. The parent can be a very overwhelmed parent, self-involved or narcissistic parent, uneducated or low-intelligence parent or an immature parent."
You'll find the words "gaslighting" and "narcissistic personality disorder" go hand in hand, as a person with this type of mental disorder has an inflated sense of self and needs and craves attention but may secretly feel vulnerable and ashamed of themselves — she or he also feels intense hurt when someone criticizes them, which explains why it's often so difficult for narcissist parents to even realize they are gaslighting their kids.
More: Parenting's dirty little secret
If left unchecked, long-term effects of gaslighting can leave the child feeling highly insecure, bitter, inflexible, anxious and aggressive, Itule says. "They grow up to be unsure of their place in the world, develop inferiority issues or seem highly paranoid and mistrusting of others," she says. "They may be more susceptible to abusive relationships as adults."
If you're unsure whether you're gaslighting your kid, here are six signs that may convince you to seek help:
1. You exaggerate every conflict: There's never a small issue; every single thing your child does wrong causes you to fly off the handle and react. Whether your toddler lied about going potty or your teen lied about stealing the car, both can set you off in a way that makes your children question whether there is any sense or logic to your anger. As a result, your kids may purposely begin keeping more from you because they never know what's going to set you off.
2. A meter maid is more flexible than you: You will not allow for any changes in your household routine, no matter how small. You need to feel completely in control of your environment at all times, which sometimes means you get unreasonably angry when your toddler refuses to take his nap at the hour that is best for you and your needs.
3. You mock your kids' behaviors: Itule provides the following example to explain how a parent can gaslight a young child by humiliating her for having feelings:
“Sally is 3 and is crying because she wants to go to the park, but it's raining outside, so they can't go," Itule says. "Sally is upset and frustrated. Her mother, Jill, is frustrated that her child won't stop whining, so she turns emphatically and mocks her by pretending she's Sally: 'Wah, wah, I want to go the park. I'm crying like a little baby. Nope!' Sally then feels confused, sad and highly distressed. She cries even harder, loses control and falls to the ground in a complete meltdown. Mom walks away from her child."
4. You overassert your power: As the parent, you're already the one in control of mostly everything, but that may not feel like enough for you. The moment you sense your child is flexing her wings and asserting control over herself, you feel fear that this could mean she may one day not need you or may no longer view you as the center of her universe. You combat this by talking crap about all of her friends, none of which are "good enough" for her, and continually sending her the message that she is helpless without your guidance.
More: 9 Red flags your partner is totally guilty of gaslighting you
5. You insist you know your child better than he knows himself: No one, not even your frustrated kid, can convince you that you may actually be wrong about his feelings and intentions. If you have it in your mind that he is responding a certain way because he's angry or sad, you'll tell him he's lying or isn't grown-up enough to understand himself if he fights back and tries to tell you otherwise.
6. You never apologize to your kids: Saying "I'm sorry," to you, is the equivalent of surrendering all your power and having no worth as an individual. As the parent, you feel you never need to apologize and will typically wait as long as it takes for your child to come to you after a conflict — no matter who is actually at fault. Never owning your mistakes sends your kids the message that they can do very little right in life and that they aren't worthy of an apology.
Tagged in
children parenting
http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1127674/gaslighting-your-child
