From the Research
Being a glass child can significantly influence parenting approaches in adulthood, with a tendency to become hypervigilant parents who strive for balance and equity among their children. This is because glass children often develop strong emotional intelligence and empathy, allowing them to recognize their children's needs effectively, but may struggle with setting appropriate boundaries due to their own childhood experiences of putting others' needs first 1. Many glass children become overly self-sufficient parents who have difficulty asking for help and may experience anxiety about their children's health or development based on their past family dynamics. They might also overcompensate by being excessively attentive to all their children or, conversely, may unconsciously recreate familiar patterns of focusing more on a child who requires additional support. Some key characteristics of glass children as parents include:
- Hypervigilance and a strong desire for balance and equity among their children
- Strong emotional intelligence and empathy, but potential difficulty in setting boundaries
- Overly self-sufficient and potentially anxious about their children's health or development
- Tendency to overcompensate or recreate past family dynamics Awareness of these tendencies is crucial, and therapy can help glass children process their experiences and develop balanced parenting approaches that acknowledge their unique perspective while avoiding the unintentional recreation of their childhood dynamics. The most recent study on parenting styles and emotional well-being among adolescents found that supportive parenting styles are associated with emotional well-being, mediated by basic psychological need satisfaction, while thwarting parenting styles are associated with emotional ill-being, mediated by basic psychological needs frustration 1. However, it's essential to note that the provided evidence does not directly address the impact of being a glass child on parenting as an adult, but rather provides insight into the effects of parenting styles on children's emotional well-being. Therefore, therapy and self-awareness are recommended for glass children to develop balanced parenting approaches and avoid unintentionally recreating their childhood dynamics.