28/11/2025
Immature parents want love, not work.
Many childhood trauma survivors were raised by highly immature parents with unresolved childhood trauma. An immature parent is confusing because they are an adult in charge of our lives with the emotional maturity of an eight-year-old. Unfortunately, survivors do not catch this problem in their parents, usually until adulthood.
The immature parent can often look like
1) Having a high deficit in parental responsibility.
(They don't know they are the adult in charge throughout their children's development and beyond.)
2) Poor handling of emotions. (They can be limited, basic, and avoidant of difficult conversations and issues, making them shut down, become victimized, or have low frustration tolerance).
3) Exhibit crazy-making behaviors. (They might be able to partially understand a boundary but revert to the old issue anyway.) For example, they can agree their partner is off or abusive but quickly give up any attempts or strategies to progress.
4) They believe it's all happening to them or around them, but never see themselves as having a part in things. "You know how hard things are for me!"
An emotionally mature parent understands their task of raising a child in emotional safety as best they can and engages the child in growing emotionally. With an immature parent, the role is reversed, with the child raising the adult through issues from job changes, romantic partnerships, and emotional soothing.
For the survivor working on themselves with an immature parent like this, there is a slow process of gradually seeing that the parent establishes a one-way street with their children. They demand love, care, and acceptance but will not work on themselves or the relationship in any way.
They will not take in your words, go to therapy, get sober, respect the boundary, or be consistent.
The survivor processing their trauma may need space and time to process being parentified and losing out on a safe home base outside the ongoing dynamic.
Do you have a parent who wants the love without the work?