To curry the child's favor, a parent may let discipline slide. Sometimes fighting parents end up taking out their frustrations on the children, and that can be even more damaging than poor parenting. The parent-child emotional relationship is vitally important, Cummings says. It is pervasive, affecting both children's capacity for self-regulation and their social world view. Kids who are rejected again and again tend to avoid their parents, while children with neglectful parents are clingy and angry.
Constant hostility can whither a child.
Moms and dads who repeatedly berate and belittle their children instill low self-esteem, making them more vulnerable to depression and stress. Kids who are treated poorly by their parents, researchers report, are more likely to misread others' emotions. What's most troubling is that once a kid slips into a negative self-image, it sticks like superglue. Recent research suggests that the bond between fathers and daughters is especially vulnerable. In one study, fathers in less happy marriages were more negative toward their daughters than fathers in happy marriages.