One of the joys of being a parent for me is knowing the power I have to raise a happy, balanced, self-confident girl, armed with the best tools to make the most of the life she's been given, whatever it throws at her.

Surely, I think, the behaviour you mention is rarely intentional but rather an ability to understand one's own demons and then project them onto the children they raise.

My heart breaks to imagine the children brought into this world by parents whose sole intention is to damage them.