The Role of Parents in Emotional Development

Miller highlights the crucial role parents play in the emotional development of their children. She explains that children have a primary need to be regarded and respected as they truly are. However, parents who are emotionally insecure or have unresolved issues often project their needs onto their children, leading to the child's emotional repression. Miller states, 'Parents who did not experience this climate as children are themselves deprived; throughout their lives they will continue to look for what their own parents could not give them.' This dynamic creates a cycle where the child, in an effort to secure love and approval, suppresses their True emotions and needs, leading to a False self and emotional disturbances in adulthood.