Dear Regi:

A parent knows that a child will follow them (much like a fawn follows its mother deer into the forest, anywhere she goes), no matter what. As a matter of fact, the more rejecting a parent, the more desperately the child follows, looking for attention, for acknowledgment.

On the other hand, more often than not, if a person rejects a neighbor, a boyfriend/girlfriend, that person will reject in return. So the person invests in the other, tries to be nice, attentive.

And so, often, a parent will be nice to everyone else, to strangers in the street, but not to their own children.

Does this make sense to you, did you witness this yourself in other people, perhaps?

anita