parental rejection
Child cast aside
Parental rejection is the withholding of love, affection, or acceptance by a parent toward their child.
It ranges from explicit abandonment to subtler forms—emotional coldness, constant criticism, or favoring other siblings.
The term appears most often in psychology, where parental rejection is studied as a factor in attachment disorders, low self-esteem, and difficulty forming relationships later in life: Children who experience parental rejection often struggle with trust as adults.
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
- neglectFailure to provide care
- emotional neglectFailure to meet feeling-needs
- coldnessLow temperature state
- cold shoulderIntentional dismissive treatment
estrangement · unloved · dismissed · invisible · shut out · distant · withholding · criticism · not good enough · disapproval · shame · unwanted · orphaned · emotional · inner child · withdrawn · harsh · conditional
- attachment traumaattachment disorder, attachment issues, insecure attachment, anxious attachment, avoidant attachment
- abandoned childrenorphan, foundling, waif, neglected child, street child
- queer storiescoming out story, queer romance, lesbian romance, transition story, self-acceptance
parental rejectionparental love
Caregiver's deep attachment
parental approval · unconditional love · unconditional acceptance · maternal love · paternal love
parental rejectionparental care
Offspring protection and nurturing
parental support · parental love · parental involvement · doting · parental guidance
parental rejectionsecure attachment
Reliable caregiver-child emotional bond
parental bonding · secure base · emotional availability · safe haven · belonging
parent, parental, parents, parenting, parenthood, parentage, parented, reject, rejection