HOW NARCISSISTS MANIPULATE CHILDREN

Following are how narcissists manipulate their children:

Assigned Roles: Each child is given a specific role. The more empathetic child often becomes the scapegoat, blamed for everything that is negative, and they usually have a moral compass
Golden Child: One child often is treated like royalty, never disciplined, and groomed to become a future narcissist, believing they are special and loved. But this “love” is fake.
Constant Supply: These children are manipulated to constantly meet the narcissist’s needs, becoming a source of toxic energy.
Distorted View of Love: Children learn to believe that “love” means being overly praised and then devalued. As adults, they often seek out narcissistic partners because they mistake this pattern for real love. Narcissists cannot love anyone so they control and manipulate them. They discourage independence, freedom and individuality.
Foggy Reality: Narcissists create a confusing reality through fear, obligations, and guilt. Ask any child of a narcissist, and they’ll tell you these tactics were a big part of their relationship
Parental Alienation: Narcissists often alienate the children from the kind parent. This can create deep confusion and a lasting impact, as a parent struggling for years to overcome this.
Role Reversal: Children are often forced to take on adult responsibilities, trying to soothe the narcissistic parent who plays the victim.
Emotional Manipulation: Like their partners, children are subjected to being overly praised and then devalued, leading to stress and anxiety.
Sibling Divide: Narcissists discourage unity among siblings, smearing each child behind their back, leaving them unsure of whom to trust.
Isolation: Narcissists know that isolating their children makes them weaker and easier to control.
Rage: With no empathy, narcissists don’t care how much they hurt their children. Even minor incidents can provoke intense anger throughout the child’s life.
Silent Treatment: Narcissists use silence as a way to test how deeply trauma has bonded their children to them.
Performance Pressure: Narcissists care a lot about appearances. Children must excel in everything to make the narcissist look good; nothing less than perfection is acceptable.
Superiority Complex: Narcissists make their children deny their own needs and dedicate themselves to serving the parent’s desires.
Discarding: If a child shows any independence, the narcissist often throws them out, discarding them as if they were worthless.

Narcissists can only change when they realize they need to change. They must forgive all who hurt them in childhood. Repent for their pride. Command the demons of Jezebel and Leviathan out of them. Walk in the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)