Quantcast
Less than $5,000 in matching funds to unlock! Give Now

What We Inherit From Our Parents

May 17, 2025
What We Inherit From Our Parents

Many of us spend our teenage years working tirelessly to avoid becoming our parents. But sooner or later, we discover that we didn’t stray quite as far as we thought. A few years ago, my colleague Faith Hill spoke with 17 parents who had the same disconcerting experience: They all noticed themselves doing something, big or small, that mimicked what their own parents used to do. “Some were genuinely happy to take after them,” Faith writes. “But most felt at least a little uneasy at the realization: Even people who had relatively happy childhoods, after all, can recall some parental shortcomings. Of course they don’t want to replicate them.”

 

The legacy of one’s parents can feel like a prophecy, Faith notes. But we’re not all doomed to repeat our parents’ mistakes, or destined to inherit their successes. Today’s reading list is a guide to taking useful lessons without losing your own way.

Continues...

Sign up for our mailing list to receive ongoing updates from IFS.
Join The IFS Mailing List

Contact

Interested in learning more about the work of the Institute for Family Studies? Please feel free to contact us by using your preferred method detailed below.
 

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 1502
Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 260-1048

info@ifstudies.org

Media Inquiries

For media inquiries, contact Chris Bullivant (chris@ifstudies.org).

We encourage members of the media interested in learning more about the people and projects behind the work of the Institute for Family Studies to get started by perusing our "Media Kit" materials.

Media Kit

Time is running out!
Your gift is urgently needed before June 16 to unlock the $5,000 that remains of our $25,000 matching gift.
Make My Gift