Here is the overview from the Adult Children of Narcissistic Parents online support group I joined very recently. The group is closed to the public; one actually has to write for permission to join. There's plenty of information out there about NPD and what it looks like from the POV of a partner of a person with the disorder. But below is a good summary of NPD from the POV of how it affects the child of a narcissistic parent:
These parents typically look to the child to meet their needs. This expectation is harmful to the child's overall mental health, which carries into adulthood. It is very similar to children raised in alcoholic homes. These homes appear "normal and healthy" to the outside world. It is the children who suffer, and suffer alone. In homes such as these, the child's job is to make sure the parent's needs are being filled. In doing such, their identity, their "true feelings", are stuffed deep within them. THEY know something isn't right...but the family looks so perfect on the outside, often it is the child who is blamed.
Children from these homes are often overlooked, because the adult narcissist will make sure things "look good" on the outside. Children will not really understand what their feelings are, because the true expression of feelings is discouraged in a house run by a narcisstic parent. Often the child struggles alone.
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