Well, this is sad and terrible: “Many experts believe that estrangements between adult children and their parents are becoming an epidemic in the U.S.” “Psychologists say young adults’ definition of harmful parental behavior is changing.” They “consider ordinary conflict to be much worse than it once was” and “have a much broader definition than their elders of psychological harm.” “Many now view repeated criticism, strong disagreements and other painful relationship conflicts as abusive.” “In their minds, they see themselves as more enlightened and therefore more justified to cut off for more reasons.”

Sep 26, 2026 · 8:20 PM UTC

1,244
520
5,095
6,292,204
And of course an industry has sprouted up to support and defend the trend: “Therapists and ‘estrangement coaches’ have produced a new wave of paid offerings, from books and podcasts to support groups and Zoom consultations, that purport to help both parents and adult children navigate a cutoff.”
17
34
615
215,057
“For decades, therapists urged families to communicate better and work out differences. But in recent years, many changed tack.” “Instead of questioning their client’s assumptions or consulting other family members, many therapists began encouraging estrangement.”
32
21
496
138,052
Sort replies: Relevant Recent Liked
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Hilarious. Have the boomers ever considered treating their children like adults? This has been at the core of most estrangements I’ve seen. But yeah, it’s just the children.
29
40
5,901
62,069
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Maybe the parents shouldn’t be pieces of shit then and take accountability for their words and actions.
13
49
4,401
39,281
Replying to @sfmcguire79
5
1,699
19,884
Replying to @sfmcguire79
The current generation is definitely not more “enlightened”, but boomers are mostly brainwashed and can’t see outside their box. Interacting with them is like talking to a tree that repeats itself. So the young’s are just walking away.
8
21
1,887
38,816
Replying to @sfmcguire79 @DastDn
I feel like it’s fashionable to beat up on adult kids who go no contact with their parents, but in a lot of cases if you bothered to look at the specifics, it’s more than justified. You can love someone without talking to them every day
7
3
1,159
18,451
Replying to @sfmcguire79
The core driver with so many of these terrible trends is the expansion of the term "trauma" to describe normal though disappointing events in a person's life. It's time that the definition of trauma be returned to its earlier, more specific usage.
17
12
204
17,766
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Let's keep in mind, there are ALLOT of men and women that are parents that never should have been.
6
17
797
23,800
Replying to @sfmcguire79
I fit this demographic but I don't match the narrative. My parents made it challenging to be with them. Small slights, like forgetting to call them, would lead to months of ghosting. Eventually I just gave up. I let them know when I'm in town and where to meet for dinner but it is on them to choose to meet. Neither parent has made an effort to met their granddaughter who is now 7.
12
327
25,711
Replying to @sfmcguire79
No one who has paid attention to what is going on in K-12 should be surprised. The entire mission of government K-12 is to separate children from their parents. It’s been happening since the early 80’s and each decade it’s gotten worse.
5
11
109
4,874
“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you”
9
3
97
6,072
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Very sad. Of course Boomers might be the worst generation of parents ever. So
2
1
186
5,578
Replying to @sfmcguire79
IS there really a "rise" though, or just more talk of it? How good is the actual research evidence? There's a lot of hype out there...
9
113
6,649
Replying to @sfmcguire79
God forbid Boomers/Gen X suffer the consequences of their decades of immense, limitless selfishness
2
114
2,031
Replying to @sfmcguire79
I typically love your takes. And I get what you’re saying here. But man, I have to tell you that some relationships are….well they’re not great….. and it can be really hard. And at a certain point, you know talking won’t be productive. So you just don’t.
81
3,652
Replying to @sfmcguire79
The parents : my kids don't come see me or even call me anymore :'( Also the parents :
2
12
447
8,072
Replying to @sfmcguire79
I think it’s deeper than that. We took away spanking, kids grew up to be disrespectful brats, parents were exasperated and angry with their brats, kids say parents are abusive, kids cut off parents. Spanking done right produces peaceful homes. Thankfully there are many parents who raised their kids the way they were raised, with swift, consistent discipline, including spanking. If done right, the kids don’t even remember being spanked more than once or twice, just that they need to obey mom and dad.
91
1
32
8,079
Replying to @sfmcguire79
The estrangement with me and my father is completely on his side. Not mine. Stop blaming the kids for our shitty parents
2
56
2,580
Replying to @sfmcguire79
No one's being tricked into not seeing their parents anymore. If your kids don't want to see you, you probably weren't a great parent.
11
751
9,425
Replying to @sfmcguire79
I'm not sure how much estrangement coaches cost per hour, but Jesus is free... Just saying
1
1
20
3,180
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Sick
1
14
1,846
Replying to @sfmcguire79
I don’t know what role therapists have in this. But in the age of cellphones where you can’t throttle people’s ability to contact you, you have to be much much much picker about who you have a relationships with vs. who you cut. There’s no reliable way to just “reduce” unwanted contact without cutting it completely. My $0.02.
1
22
1,956
Replying to @sfmcguire79
That’s because that whole generation of parents in the west spent 18 years telling their kids “my house this” and “my house that” and “get out of my house at 18” and now that they’re lonely and miserable, they’re complaining about the kids they never made to feel loved
9
217
Replying to @sfmcguire79
My younger relatives struggle to communicate by spoken word and voice telephone, preferring short texts and photos and vice versa.Perhaps we become cut off by losing common channels of communication
1
1
3
978
Replying to @sfmcguire79
I went to a community talk by a licensed counselor who was discussing other things but she mentioned this is at the level of needing a code for it now, considers it mental illness. A lot of it is irrational and very self-focused, not taking into account facts and blames a lot of it on drugs and TikTok exposures.
5
1,093
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Terrible, cult-like behavior.
2
4
1,461
Replying to @sfmcguire79
You don’t go no contact with a parent for no reason. Theres always a reason and it’s usually valid. Anyone who hasn’t had to choose between their own mental health and the parental relationship is operating from a different reality and can’t judge.
8
7
829
11,244
If you’re being abused, estrangement is healthy. It’s a good thing. Tons of people have kids and don’t care about them or abuse them. Those kids should cut off those bad people as soon as they are able.
3
317
5,860
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Most of our parents are boomers who don’t act like parents anyway. My own estranged father acted more like a jealous, resentful sibling until I cut him off.
4
185
4,069
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Yes but parents are also more selfish and stupid than ever before — I sympathize heavily
304
8,164
Replying to @sfmcguire79
“Many now view repeated criticism, strong disagreements & other painful relationship conflicts as abusive" Because adults don't tolerate other adults treating them like that. Parents need to understand after 18, they're your equals in many ways. Would you accept such behavior?
2
3
170
3,768
Replying to @sfmcguire79
the elders ruined society on a macroscopic level; toxic politically, toxic in person it's really not a surprise when given a choice, many of gen Y & younger choose not to associate with them All that's left is to cut off their entitlement programs and gov asset inflation
5
10
152
4,860
Replying to @sfmcguire79
Some people were not cut out to be parents and genuinely think of their children as possessions rather than human beings. If they want a relationship with their children they should work on being better people.
1
6
150
1,919