How To Make Sure You Aren’t Raising A Narcissist, From An Expert

For example, when a mother tells her 2-year-old, “Use your words, not your hands—hitting isn’t allowed,” the child knows his mother has a separate vision of how he should behave. They are separate individuals. This cements the clarification the child needs that he can’t do whatever he wants; he has a mother who is different from him and who may restrict his actions. If she fails to do so, he will feel too powerful and omnipotent, leading to the potential for the development of pathological narcissism as an adult.