Credits: Social Media
‘Hating children’ doesn’t make you a Grinch, the sad reality may be worse, physiologist says
A lot of adults don’t hesitate to say they aren’t a “baby person”. It is common to express your dislike towards the thought of sitting next to a noisy toddler on a plane or babysitting the children in the family.
While the frustration is normal, an outright “hatred” for children traces its roots back to your childhood, says a psychologist Thai Alonso Aka Dr. T.
Psychologist breakdown ‘hating children’
We aren’t talking about an individual’s choice not to have a baby. The TikTok psychologist’s focus is on “hatred and contempt for children”, which isn’t normal.
She said people who can’t stand children may have had a childhood that was limiting – they couldn’t do what other children typically do.
It’s one thing to find the little ones annoying. Even though this may jangle a few nerves, let’s admit children can push you to the edge sometimes by being loud, stubborn, and unwilling to listen.
An average normal human may roll their eyes or take themselves out of the situation momentarily, but people who hate children dislike them regardless of the situation.
You don’t have to be faced with a challenge involving children to dislike them. The feeling is inbuilt and it has a lot to do with yourself.
How childhood impacts your emotions
The psychologist says adults whose childhood was controlled can resent children who can do what they couldn’t.
She further explains that adults treated poorly by their caregivers internalize their emotions and “respond to other children in the same way they were responded to.”
The hatred also stems from not having their needs met, which makes them despise children who express their needs constantly.
Individuals with awareness can be divided over their contempt for children despite feeling helpless. A mental health professional would try to understand their experiences growing up while exploring “how they experience themselves having needs as adults and what they do with that now.”
Dr. Thai Alonso is a New York and New Jersey-based licensed psychologist and therapist. Her specialties include anxiety, trauma depression, self-esteem, relationships, and parenting. Her therapy insights have gained her millions of followers on social media, including over 196,000 on TikTok where she goes by the handle Dr.T.
She holds a B.A. in Biology and Psychology from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center.
