The Effects of Parental Narcissism on Children, in Childhood and Adulthood – Based on an Article by Dr. Karyl McBride

The child doesn't feel heard or seen.
These children's reality and feelings are never validated within the family.
The child is treated as an accessory rather than a person.
The child is valued for what they do (mainly for the parent's benefit), not for who they are.
The child never learns to recognize and trust their own feelings, and grows into an adult plagued by constant self-doubt.
The child learns from the parent that how things "look" matters more than how they actually feel.
The child becomes afraid to be themselves. Instead, they learn that how they're perceived from the outside matters more than their own authenticity.
The child learns to keep secrets in order to protect the parent and the family.
The child never learns how to develop a sense of self, or independence.
The child will feel an inner emptiness, without ever feeling nurtured, cared for, or looked after.
The child learns not to trust other people.
The child will feel exploited and manipulated.
The child ends up being there for the parent, instead of the parent being there for the child.
The child grows into a frustrated adult, endlessly searching for love, validation, and attention.
The child grows into an adult who feels they're "not good enough," never enough.
The child has no model for healthy emotional relationships.
The child never learns appropriate boundaries in relationships.
The child never learns self-care – instead they learn to take care of others, not themselves.
The child will struggle, as an adult, to maintain a separate sense of self from the parent.
The child learns to seek external rather than internal validation – compliments as a defense against criticism.
The child receives crazy-making double messages – "succeed, so the parent looks good, but don't succeed too much, or you'll outshine them."
If the child outshines the parent or is more successful at something, they'll experience the parent's envy toward them.
The child learns not to give themselves credit, not to value their own achievements.
As an adult, the child will experience some degree of post-traumatic stress, depression, and/or anxiety.
The child grows into an adult who doesn't feel worthy of love, and feels worthless.
The child is often humiliated and shamed by the narcissistic parent, and so grows up lacking self-confidence.
The child often grows into either a relentless achiever, or someone who sabotages their own success.
As an adult, the child will need to recover from trauma and will have to become their own parent.