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Why am I not good enough for my parents?

202 Answers
Last Updated: 06/18/2022 at 10:54pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Jill Kapil, PsyD

Psychologist

I have over 9 years of clinical experience, specialize in anxiety, and am passionate about my work. My approach is collaborative, empathic, supportive, and goal-oriented.

Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
July 27th, 2017 5:29pm
It's hard to feel like you are good enough for everyone, parents included. It feels like they put so much pressure on you and set the expectation bar out of reach right? You want to please them so much, but it is just not possible. That is wrong. You don't need to be good enough for your parents, you need to be good enough for yourself. Parents just want their kids to be perfect right? They need to understand that you are human and you can't always be good enough. That's okay though, to not be good enough. You are good enough by being yourself.
2cupsofteaa
September 24th, 2016 4:53am
Sometimes it doesn't matter whether you're good or not, if parents' expectations are high, no matter what you do, it's difficult to satisfy them. Talk to them about how you feel, and see what they say. Perhaps it's you who have implanted these thoughts in your head, and it's not anything they have said/done!
Anonymous
May 15th, 2015 3:19pm
Personally, I feel like parents expect so much out of their kids. They sometimes even do it because of things that they missed out on when they were younger. You most likely feel like they're pushing a lot but trust me, they only want the best out of you.
warmPudding59
July 4th, 2018 9:34pm
They might be not accepting themselves and their own flaws, therefore they focus all their attention on you.
GirlFromTheWoods
March 28th, 2018 6:09pm
Parents are just people with their own set of experiences, expectations and limitations. Many people hold strong preconceptions regarding what a family should be like and everything that deviates from this image is perceived as negative. It is important to come to terms with the fact that not all of our choices will be accepted by our parents, but that does not mean those choices are wrong.
Anonymous
March 8th, 2018 4:46pm
Some people have such extremely high standards, that you’ll never be good enough for them. What’s important is if you consider yourself good enough.
Anonymous
August 7th, 2017 8:00am
You are. You just think you are not. Parents have a tendency to act indifferently towards our achievements, but this is not because you are not good enough. It means that they believe there is more to what you can do, or something better to something you just did. You will receive that much-earned praise once you've given it your all, believe me. You haven't reached your full potential yet and your parents can see that.
LetHopeRise
August 20th, 2017 1:13am
The pressure our parents instill on us is not directly related to us. More often than not, it's about them. HOW we deal with that pressure is the only thing we can do something about.
Anonymous
September 7th, 2017 6:55pm
Your parents probably have high expectations or Goals they could never reach so now they want you to reach them. But that's wrong. They usually just want the best for you and want to inspire you to become better. It's just a wrong way of doing that.
Anonymous
December 15th, 2019 10:43am
You should never be made to feel like your not good enough, you are! Your parents love you and appreciate you, I know exactly where you are coming from though, growing up I was expected to be smart and live up to my amazing older brother, being the middle child dint help either as I felt I never really mattered and unless I got the highest mark or accomplished something really incredible I wouldn't be noticed or ever enough to please them. What I realised as I grew up was that I was so focused on doing things in my life to make them love and appreciate me more, was that I was completely miserable and depressed. I felt like I had no purpose or direction in life and I regret not doing the things I loved and what I was passionate about because that was also what I was best at. And I only realised too late that actually my parents always supported and loved me its just some have a different way of showing it, they were always there pushing me and guiding me to success and always right behind me in case I fell. I would advice that you speak to them about how you feel and let them tell you yourself how much you matter and are enough. :)
uniqueApricot19
December 5th, 2019 11:29am
We are good enough Our parents, at times may appear very demanding. Their expecting at other times. Or sometimes Simultaneously may seem overly high. 9 times out of 10 these parents genuinely want the very best from that potential. We know there are the pushy parents. The ones who once had a lost dream and wish their offspring to peruse and carry on the baton, where they left of. Sometimes seeming overly controlling / psychopathic in their pursuit. Though many of such parents have produced fame passion ed successful celebrities, this is probably not the best method
ScreenOphelia
June 14th, 2017 6:27am
Sometimes, we do not get along with our parents. Not everyone will be able to "be friends" with their parents, and sometimes parents won't love their children unconditionally. This is unfortunate, but it is also a reality for many people, and you are not alone. Feeling like you are not good enough can often result from having parents that seem indifferent towards you and your achievements/well-being, or who -in some cases- put you down. However, this is most commonly a reflection of their own self worth rather than your worth. Remember that. Your worth does not lie in others' evaluations of you. Rather, it lies in your evaluation of yourself. And despite your parents' opinions, you can be brilliant.
Anonymous
October 25th, 2017 2:12am
Every parent loves their children in any circumstances. They get disheartened when you do not do things according to their wishes or desires. Sometimes they discipline you or do not give permission to do certain things because they can predict the outcome of it. They do that out of their life experiences and knows your capabilities and limitations as their child. Scolding, punishment are a way of expressing their love towards you to become the rightful successful person. Express your feelings and emotions to them, it will help them to change their way of approach towards you.
Anonymous
May 26th, 2017 7:54pm
You are. Why don't you feel good enough for your parents? You can't control the dialogues other people tell themselves and you have to realize that their approval has nothing to do with being loved. They'll respect your choices if you're passionate and driven about why you're making them. Maybe not at first, but eventually.
SparklingStarbuck
May 10th, 2017 11:14am
Its quite simple. Our parents think the best for us. But the problem is they think what is best for us in their own horizon. They might not consider what we might consider to be good. For example a person may want his son to be the best business man in the city but the son has other plans he wants to be the best professional attorney in the country. So, here it shows that, we kids, in spite of going in best directions many a times look wrong to our parents or we can say that we don't look good enough for our parents.
faithlove1111
April 28th, 2017 1:09pm
In what way are you not good enough for your parents : education, looks, attitude, behaviour , ettiquettes , wealth..... ? Firstly , please understand that no one in this world could ever satisfy each other. There are just too many criteria and it would take more than a lifetime to fulfill even half of these expectations. Are you willing to spend your whole life trying to do this? What about your own growth as a person ? Isn't it better if you do the best you can and live a life which you have worked hard to build ? Every loving parents will surely overcome their own expectations and appreciate their child for what she/he have achieved.
EmpathicSunshine22
January 31st, 2021 8:00pm
Sometimes the issue is not you. Parents tend to put expectations on what they want their kids to do or become and missing what their kids would like and how as they assume they know the best for their kids regardless if it's true. So once they find one of their kids for example not measuring up to their expectations or choosing a different path or not doing the things they wanted him to do regardless what it is, he'll get labeled as not good enough or sometimes useless sadly...I'm sorry if you're going through this, words can become hurtful sometimes indeed but know that you are the master of your fate, the captain of your life. You choose what is best for you and choosing to be happy by your own definition of happiness is success to fulfill it, regardless if you are enough or not in others point of view. What matters is that you are convinced and enough for yourself! Hope this was helpful!
LynzeyLuHoo
March 15th, 2017 3:36am
I've realized that we tend to try too hard to please our parents rather than just doing what makes US happy. Do what YOU want to do & do what makes YOU happy. Parents are there to love you unconditionally & they should support whatever you do. If they don't? Then that is negativity you don't need.
Freespirit04
March 9th, 2017 6:16am
Do not ever feel you are not good enough. You are enough. For your parents, your friends, and yourself. Sometimes people project their problems onto others and that may be why you feel this way. Other times parents push their kids to be better than they were and sometimes that is overwhelming.
Anonymous
February 9th, 2017 6:43am
Parents can sometimes be tough on us because they want to make you the best person you can be. Try talking to them about your feelings and conserns.
Anonymous
October 7th, 2016 2:41pm
The honest answer is you are good enough for your parents. They just have unfair expectations of you.
ConstantDisappointement666
December 5th, 2017 9:52pm
It's crazy how disapointed my parents are, especially my father. I was a brilliant student in my middle school, but i've never received any compliments from my parents. I've had some facilities in school but when i work, i don't received more attention. While i had 17/20 in middle and my parents don't say anything, if not telling me to do better then i-don't-know-who who has 18,5/20, the others progress and have some beyond happy parents. I think i just have abandonned all hope of satisfaction from my parents and all this pressure has totally destroyed me. I just argue with my parents systematically 5 times per week, which drains me physically and mentally. I can't focus, I am living in a pressure and my only reaction from all of this is to letting go all of these things and disappointing people. This is so mich easier. I just gave up. And they see it.
BlueCornflower
October 21st, 2016 10:48pm
The truth is you are enough. Always. No matter what. I hear you when you say you are in pain because you don't feel worthy of your parents' attention or approval. What I found in my own experience is that my parents' emotional intelligence simply isn't developed enough to maintain a healthy communication style. The problem is our love languages don't match up. They show affection through material stuff and money but that's not what I need. That said, through empathy I came to understand why are they doing this and where are they coming from which helped us to improve our relationship to a certain degree. I took acti e steps to work on my own self esteem and build a support network outside of family. Hope this helps to give you some insight. Feel free to contact me in private should you wish to talk further about this topic.
Candid0211
October 13th, 2016 2:01am
Possibility is that they see you for the potential in you and want to push you and do not know when to stop. As a parent I know I an very critical of my children sometimes simply because I don't want to see them make the same mistakes I did or I think my parents did with me. Unfortunately we don't know when to stop or even realise the fact that we may be suffocating our children by constantly breathing down their necks. The reason I am telling you this is to make you realise that it's not about you my dear. It a parenting fight. Infact, I personally think you must constantly be living up to their expectations and that's why they keep raising the bar. You are not just good enough, you are the best to your parents. They probably want to ensure that you become stronger.
YouKnowWho1999
October 12th, 2016 6:34am
The problem is not that you're parents think you're not good enough. But it is you who thinks this way. You need to believe in yourself and follow the path where your heart leads you. Accept yourself as you are with your flaws and the mistakes you've made, you'll realize once you've done that people around you will also accept you as you are.
Arvi21
September 11th, 2016 11:23am
You are good enough they are just trying to push you to do something good for yourself..............
FeatherIce25
April 9th, 2015 3:29am
Every child is precious and valuable to his/her parents. You may not know it..they may not tell you , but you are. If they are constantly telling you the opposite, they have something good for you in their mind. Ask them politely .
DancingLeaves14
January 4th, 2016 10:14am
Its not that you are not good enough, your parents could be going through a tough time right now so they are actin mean.
allnaturalUnicorns70
December 16th, 2016 3:40pm
Children often imagine they aren't "good enough" for their parents if their parents are critical of them. Until you're a parent yourself, it's impossible to imagine the love a (healthy) parent has for their child. #dadtalkinghere
StrawberryPudding
September 24th, 2016 2:34pm
Parents as parents are want the best for their child. Unfortunately ,in their run to make achieve the potential they know you have, are pushing and pushing and never seeing what is too much . Because they think you're the strongest and can take anything.