adult child
Parent's mature descendant
Adult child has two distinct meanings.
In family contexts, it refers to someone's son or daughter who has reached adulthood: Her adult children help with the mortgage.
In psychology, adult child describes someone whose emotional development was stunted by a dysfunctional upbringing—particularly children of alcoholics or abusive households—who carries those patterns into adulthood: As an adult child of an alcoholic, she struggles with boundaries.
- dysfunctionalNot operating properly
- codependentUnhealthily reliant on another
- boundariesLines marking separation
- setting boundariesEstablishing personal limits
- cutting tiesEnding a relationship completely
trauma · family dynamics · enabling · enmeshment · healing · therapy · parentified · toxic · emotional neglect · estrangement · caretaker · alcoholic · family of origin · dysfunction · independence · emotional · maturity · offspring
- adultsgrown-up, grown-ups, mature, legal age, of age
- caregiverscaregiver, parents, carer, mothers, babysitter
- Parent-Childmother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter, father-son, single parent
- dependentskids, minor, minors, spouse, son
- family generationsgenerations, generation, grandparents, grandchildren, grandparent
- occupantsoccupant, resident, tenant, dweller, inhabitant
adult childminor child
Legally underage offspring
young child · dependent child · minor · infant · toddler
adult, child, adults, adulthood, adulting, children, childish, childlike, childhood