Kids who think they’ve had such parents share how they realized and what tare the signs.

1. “Parents who have no respect for privacy, physical or otherwise (taking doors off hinges, going through kids’ diaries, walking in on them in the bathroom, etc.).” – CoyotePatronus

2. “Parents who think their kids are obliged to them or ‘owe’ them for choosing to have them and actually meeting the lowest bar required of parenting (I raised you, fed you, and clothed you for eighteen years, you owe me!)” – CoyotePatronus

3. “If a kid has a problem in their life, and their first, second, or third outlets for support, are not their parents in any capacity or if there is major hesitation on the kid’s part to involve their parents in something, that should be a major red flag.” – The_Quicktrigger

4. “They take out their marital frustrations and unhappiness on their kids instead of dealing with it between themselves.” – Back2Bach

5. “A total lack of respect for personal boundaries.” – Nozomommi

6. “Raise children as trophies.” – lodger238

7. “They start forcing you to do things you don’t like because someone else’s child is doing it and they are successful. It genuinely makes parents super narcissistic and self-centered and that they feel the need to use their child just so they can look better than everyone else.” – Little-Lingonberry-7

8. “Physical punishment for the most part is a sign. I came to realize my stepdad hit us to vent his anger with his business, clients, or employees. Not discipline us. Punishments were not given out based on the severity of the transgression but more on how bad of a day he was having. Several times I remember getting beaten for not having chores by 5:30 done because I was working on homework all afternoon.” – ansteve1

9. “Setting the bar for achievement so high that your kid can’t reach it, then getting angry and telling them they’ll never amount to anything when they aren’t able to meet those goals. I was never praised for my good grades in other subjects, only yelled at for my math grade. My dad threw test papers back in my face, telling me that I would never amount to anything if I couldn’t get my grades higher. I have struggled so much with self-worth as an adult because of shit like this. To this day, I feel that I am never good enough in anything I do, even if I manage to meet and exceed expectations.” – Foxtrottings

10. “Kids feel the need to lie or cover up things that aren’t typically huge deals.” – anonymous

11. “Put an extreme amount of pressure on their kids to succeed because they never got the same experience.” – Agitated-Track2665

12. “Rotating in between “You’re older and need to be more responsible” and “You’re just a kid you don’t know what you’re doing” whenever it’s expedient for them so that they can control you rather than actually prepare you for adulthood.” – FatherofGray

13. “If your too scared to be yourself around them.” – NoCommunication7

14. “Withholding love, support, and validation when upset at their child. Or trying to be their child’s best friend rather than a parent.” – PureObjective5

What do you think about these signs?