"The thought that a mother could raise her children with profound neglect unable to see her children as anything more than an unending supply of emotional support for her unquenchable neediness is unfathomable to most." HBM
Totally shocking, yes. I really didn't see this until we had children of our own. Hanging out with other young parents/friends was kind of an awakening process for me without a doubt. I was never around other families, I was never around other kids in a familial setting so of course it was a shock to see that my childhood baseline for "normal" was actually so distorted.