If the parent likes the kid for who they are, and is just happy to have a great relationship with another independent human, that’s great.
But, sometimes the parents are obsessed with having a kid who they can mould in their own image. They insist, for example, that the kid become amazing at football, because they never made it as a football player but through their kid they can live their own dreams vicariously.
It can be sweet, or it can be icky.
If the parent likes the kid for who they are, and is just happy to have a great relationship with another independent human, that’s great.
But, sometimes the parents are obsessed with having a kid who they can mould in their own image. They insist, for example, that the kid become amazing at football, because they never made it as a football player but through their kid they can live their own dreams vicariously.