Is it possible to not love your parents?

Do you really know?
Feb 20, 2026 4 min
Is it possible to not love your parents?
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About this episode

It’s more common than we tend to admit. Some children grow up with parents who are critical, emotionally distant, or unable to empathize. In that kind of environment, attachment bonds don’t always form smoothly. Children may internalize the idea that they don’t deserve affection and that makes it harder to give it back. Add in repeated abandonment, breakups, violence, or addiction, and some children end up feeling no real attachment to the people who raised them. So, can we choose to love less to protect ourselves? But does our love for them fluctuate over time? So then, how should we think about parental love? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: Could intentional lazy parenting foster your child's independence? Why are more and more children suffering from virtual autism? Why are we having children later and later? A Bababam Originals podcast written and realised by Amber Minogue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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