We know that no one is necessarily born a narcissist but that they are ‘created’ from the factors they face in life as they grow, narcissism in children is something not many people want to talk about.
Now, while it is something that happens to someone as they grow, you can’t necessarily just blame someone’s parents for their narcissistic ways. It’s not that cut and dry. Yes, the parents can have a lot to do with it but it’s not that simple. If you’ve been wondering why some kids become narcissists you’ve come to the right place, this is something that stems from a lot of things and varies from person to person.
One thing that can create a narcissistic child according to Psychology Today is ‘narcissistic parental values.’ This meaning that the parents teach their children to be overly competitive and do not reward them unless they are doing far more than most should be capable of. That leaves them yearning for more and pushes them to really beat others down in order to build themselves up. Situations like this often also come with conditional love rather than parents caring for their kids no matter what as it should be.
Psychology Today wrote as follows summing up that there are several things that go into a child becoming a narcissist:
When clinicians and theorists look at why one child develops narcissistic personality disorder, while another develops a different set of problems, most do not simply blame the parents or bad genes. A combination of three things are generally recognized as contributing to the child’s personality: the child’s inborn temperament, how they are parented, and the consequences of unintended and uncontrollable events that negatively affect the child.
If a child grows up thinking that he or she has to always be the best no matter what that is going to negatively affect them in the long run and that is something we all need to be aware of. Just in the same sense teaching them that they can do no wrong also has dangerous effects. They end up thinking they are better than everyone else and that they do not have to own up to the things they do because they are ‘special.’
All in all, this should really reveal that parents do affect their kids more than they realize, but they do not necessarily make up the only thing that goes into whether someone turns out as a narcissist. It’s hard to diagnose this kind of thing in a child and so it’s not often talked about but it is something we should be aware of. Just make sure you teach your kids that no one is perfect and that they’re going to make mistakes and really work at teaching them empathy above all else.
To learn more about this topic take a look at the video below. We’re all human and our environments affect us. If you think your kid or kids might be showing narcissistic tendencies perhaps you should be working to help make changes rather now than later.