Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents

Use this worksheet to reflect on the unspoken (and spoken) messages you received about emotions growing up.

If you're wondering if your parent is emotionally immature, these are 5 signs to look out for.

Here are a few ways to respond that can help protect your reality, even if they’ll never validate it.

In emotionally immature households, children are often expected to be small, agreeable, and easy to manage.

Whitney explains parentification and its damaging effects on those who've experienced it.

This worksheet will help you identify whether you're acting more like the adult in the relationship, while your parent continues to act like the child.

This phrase is often used to guilt you. Learn how you can respond.

In healthy relationships, love and connection are freely given, not extracted through pressure or emotional manipulation.

You don't have to keep walking on eggshells.

Scripts you can use when you’re explaining your emotionally immature family member to a friend or partner.

This worksheet will help you clarify what you are responsible for in the relationship and what is not yours.

Even after you create distance or start setting boundaries with your emotionally immature parent, you might find yourself slipping back into old patterns.

Whitney answers member questions about the monthly topic.

This worksheet will help you clarify what you want from your relationship with your emotionally immature parent.

These things should feel safe with your parent.

When this moment comes, you may want to communicate that you’re done explaining yourself. Here are several ways to do that.

When you’re still exposed to active harm, your brain and body stay in alert mode. You’re spending all your energy surviving instead of recovering.