Therapist warns parents about toxic things they can do that may damage their children for DECADES on

From letting them take sides in a “bad marriage” to treating them like adults, a therapist has been warning parents about the toxic things they can do that can negatively affect their children for decades.

Whitney Goodman, an author and licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from Florida, has become a viral sensation – with over 550,000 followers on Instagram – by describing how mothers and fathers unconsciously damage their children through unhealthy parenting behaviour.

According to the relationship expert, one of the worst things a parent can do is fight with their partner in front of their children because it makes them feel like they have to take sides.

She claimed that children who grow up in families where adults fight a lot will spend years “trying to find stability” and “looking for security in different ways.”

Whitney Goodman, an author and licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from Florida, has described all the unhealthy things mothers and fathers can do to harm their children.

According to the relationship expert, one of the worst things a parent can do is fight with their partner in front of their children because it makes them feel like they have to take sides.

“This video is for everyone who grew up in a house where your parents fought a lot and their marriage was really bad,” she began in one of her videos.

“If you grew up in such a house, you may have noticed that your family split into different alliances or teams to try and manage marital discord.

“So because marriage wasn’t a good, secure foundation for the family, everyone had to start forming these new teams.

“Maybe you and your dad worked together and you talked bad about your mom…or maybe your sibling worked with your mom.

‘Everyone was looking for stability, but at the same time also looking for each other.

“You all seek security and try to find it in different ways. And now you will never be able to achieve the same kind of stability you would have felt if your parents had that concrete stable relationship.”

She added that “parents don’t have to be married to provide a secure base” and that “they just need to communicate respectfully and not involve children in the altercation.”

In a follow-up video, Whitney went on to talk about the importance of making a child feel “safe” and “protected.”

In a follow-up video, Whitney went on to talk about the importance of making a child feel ‘safe’ and ‘protected’

“A lot of parents will say, ‘I really loved my child, I really cared about them.’ I think we have to remember that loving your child is not the same as protecting them,” she explained

In a third clip, Whitney opened up about another potentially harmful thing parents can do — not say they’re sorry or admit they’re wrong with their kids

“A lot of parents will say, ‘I really loved my child, I really cared about them.’ I think we have to remember that loving your child is not the same as protecting them,” she explained.

“Sometimes parents can come out of this place of love and still put their children in very dangerous situations.

‘The environment that [you put them] in and things [you go] it can make them feel unsafe or unprotected.’

In a third clip, Whitney opened up about another potentially harmful thing parents can do — not say they’re sorry or admit they’re wrong with their kids.

“Growing up with a parent who can’t or won’t apologize can be one of the most disorienting and confusing experiences for both a child and an adult,” she said.

“That’s because no one out there, not even parents, is relieved of the responsibility of acknowledging their part in something, apologizing, and trying to do better.”

In a fourth video, Whitney emphasizes the importance of treating children like children rather than expecting them to act like adults.

She said: ‘What I find is that people have no empathy for children. People expect children to behave like adults. Children are helpless, defenseless and unable to fend for themselves’

She added that refusing to admit your mistakes can cause children to “doubt” or “blame themselves” for things the parents are doing wrong.

In a fourth video, Whitney stressed the importance of treating kids like kids rather than “expecting them to act like adults.”

She told her followers, “I get so many responses from people saying, ‘Parents are people too,’ and, ‘We have to have empathy for parents.’

“I’m a parent and I understand that. I think parenting is one of the hardest things you will ever do.

“But what I find is that people have no empathy for children. People expect children to behave like adults.

“Children are helpless, defenseless and unable to take care of themselves physically and emotionally.

Adults have power and options. Keep that in mind, it makes the conversation a little more honest.’