No one is exempt from narcissistic projection, not even their children.

It often comes as a shock to people who have children with pathological narcissists how easily some of them abandon their children.

Many narcissistic parents have an emotionally immature worldview. They see the world in terms of “good” or “bad”, “black” and “white”, “wrong” or “right.” Unfortunately, this extends to how they see their family, even their children.

While narcissists perceive themselves as superior to all and sundry, they have suffer from a painfully fragile ego that is susceptible to a never ending barrage of real and imagined narcissists injuries.

This warped view of reality is part of what makes them high conflict individuals. They are prone to objectifying and dehumanizing other people and their children are no exception.

The reasons for this may be rooted in the narcissist’s dysfunctional family of origin.

Characteristics of a dysfunctional family

Narcissists typically come from family units with power imbalances, rampant denial, low empathy, little to no boundaries and a lack of justice. These structures are centered on a…

In a narcissistic family, there will be a lot of coercive and controlling behaviors. Beneath the façade, anger, hypocrisy, envy, and betrayal contaminate the ecosystem. The toxicity between the caregivers usually trickles down to their children.