Divorces are sometimes the result of a mental health condition of one of the spouses. For some, this happens because of narcissism. Unfortunately, people who go have a child with a narcissist will still have to deal with that individual because of the child. There are several things to remember if you’re facing a child custody case involving a narcissist.
One of the primary considerations in these cases is helping the child to adjust to the new way of life. There’s a chance that the child will suffer some because they’ll notice that their other parent is being very self-centered. This is hard for children to understand because they know the adults in their life should support them.
You can help your child through this aspect of growing up with a narcissistic parent by helping them to develop their own identity. This can be done by helping the child to find activities that they excel in and providing them with support for those. You may face some pushback from the narcissistic parent if they’re asked to support the child; however, some will readily provide support because it makes them look good.
Sometimes, the issue with having a narcissistic parent is that it doesn’t feel like the love from that parent is present. You can’t do much to try to force your co-parent to show love to the child, but you can find the little ways that you can see the love that your ex is showing the child and let the child know. This might prove challenging because it forces you to say nice things about your ex.
You should also have a solid parenting plan in place. This outlines the responsibilities of each parent, so you can help the child to see that they do have support from both sides.