Come here and give mommy a hug. That the child has power over, and therefore responsibility for, mommy's feelings. This is emotional abuse, and sets up an emotionally incestuous relationship in which the child feels responsible for the parent's emotional needs. A healthy parent would explain to the child that it is all right for mommy to cry, that it is healthy and good for people to cry when they feel sad or hurt. It is rampant in our society but there is still very little written or discussed about it.
Emotional incest occurs when a child feels responsible for a parents emotional well-being.
This happens because the parents do not know how to have healthy boundaries. It can occur with one or both parents, same sex or opposite sex. It occurs because the parents are emotionally dishonest with themselves and cannot get their emotional needs met by their spouse or other adults. This type of abuse can happen in a variety of ways. This occurs when a parent talks about adult issues and feelings to a child as if they were a peer.