Effects on children in dysfunctional families.

I do occasionally want to focus on the serious reality behind dysfunctional families here on Kinsanity at times. While it’s fun to laugh at our families sometimes, other times these things need to be taken more to heart. When it comes to kids especially, because they’re too young to find the oddities to be funny, and it can actually affect them for life.

Children growing up in a dysfunctional family have been known to adopt one or more of six basic roles:

* “The Good Child” – a child who assumes the parental role.
* “The Problem Child” – the child who is blamed for most problems, in spite of often being the only emotionally stable one in the family.
* “The Caretaker” – the one who takes responsibility for the emotional well-being of the family.
* “The Lost Child” – the inconspicuous, quiet one, whose needs are often ignored or hidden.
* “The Mascot” – uses comedy to divert attention away from the increasingly dysfunctional family system.
* “The Mastermind” – the opportunist who capitalizes on the other family members’ faults in order to get whatever he/she wants.

They may also:

* think only of themselves to make up the difference of their childhoods. They’re still learning the balance of self-love
* distrust others
* have difficulty expressing emotions
* have low self-esteem or have a poor self image
* have difficulty forming healthy relationships with others
* feel angry, anxious, depressed, isolated from others, or unlovable
* perpetuate dysfunctional behaviors in their other relationships (especially their children)
* lack the ability to be playful, or childlike, and may “grow up too fast”
* may be unpatriotic to their hometown, state, province, or country, and often yearn to live far away from their families

(source: Wiki)