The generalization that parents love their kids more than themselves is a farce

It’s one of those things that a lot of people love to parrot because it makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy about the world, makes them feel warm and fuzzy about themselves as parents and makes them feel warm and fuzzy about their own parents.

However, there’s no real tangible evidence to suggest that parents (in general) love their kids more than themselves. I grew up in a dysfunctional community. I knew a lot of kids who got abused by one parent and had the other parent look the other way. Happens all the time. With that being said, forget my anecdotal experiences. If you look at the top 10 reasons western couples get divorced, abuse of spouse is in the top 10 reasons married couples get divorced, abuse of child isn’t. More often than not, Jane Doe will divorce her husband if she gets abused but look the other way when little Timmy or Tammy gets abused.

Now let’s talk about the opposite scenario where a child is in a happy situation with both parents involved but their parents split up for reasons unrelated to any kind of abuse and completely throws their child’s childhood in flux. Is that indicative of people who love their children more than themselves?

There’s really no evidence to support the idea that parents love their kids more than themselves. It doesn’t exist. For every instance of a parent sacrificing their own physical well being for their kids, I can show you as many (if not more) instances of a parent leaving their kids in harms way.

I will acknowledge that if a human is going to commit a act of selflessness, it’s most likely to be for their children but that doesn’t mean they love their kids more than themselves