7 Reasons Narcissistic Parents Don’t Love Their Kids

When love is a performance, children become props. In this deep-dive, we unpack seven clear reasons a narcissist doesn’t truly love their children—from public displays of affection used to harvest admiration to the conditional, transactional “love” that punishes individuality and rewards compliance. If you grew up walking on eggshells, confused by shifting roles like golden child and scapegoat, this breakdown will help you name the pattern, reclaim your reality, and begin healing. We’ll explore: • Affection as performance (image before intimacy) • Idealizing dependency, punishing individuation • Control and compliance disguised as care • Conditional love and transactional bonds • Children used as leverage in adult conflict • The perfect-family illusion and role-casting • Divide-and-conquer favoritism between siblings You are not a mirror for someone else’s image. You’re a person—worthy of steady, private, and unconditional care. Watch, reflect, and take your power back. #narcissist #narcissisticabuse #childhoodtrauma #toxicparents #narcissisticparent #healingjourney #innerchild #boundaries #reparenting #psychology #traumahealing #CPTSD #familydynamics #gaslighting #mentalhealth