Eggshell Parent
An emotionally unstable parent
Example
Man, every time I visit my parents, I feel so tense. Like one wrong comment and my mom will start crying or my dad will blow up
Sounds like you grew up with an eggshell parent. It’s exhausting always having to manage their emotions
Exactly. I didn’t even realize how much it messed with me until recently
Children of an eggshell parent need to tread lightly
Related Slang
| AP | Attachment parenting |
| Permissive parenting | High responsiveness and low rule enforcement parenting style |
| Snowplow parent | A parent that removes obstacles for their kid |
| Sharent | An oversharing parent on social media |
| Soft parenting | Friendly parenting |
| Nepo baby | A child who benefits from a famous parent |
| Glass child | A child whose sibling requires all their parents' attention |
| p911 | Parent alert! |
| PAH | Parents at home |
| PAW | Parents are watching |
Can you survive our Dungeons & Dragons slang quiz?
An eggshell parent is a parent whose emotions are so fragile that their children feel like they have to "walk on eggshells" around them. Kids with eggshell parents often have to carefully manage what they say or do to avoid triggering anger, sadness, or emotional outbursts.
The term highlights the stressful environment where children prioritize keeping their parents calm over expressing themselves freely. You will often see the term in parenting discussions, therapy communities, and social media to describe households where emotional instability affects daily life. For example, people may use "eggshell parent" in conversations about breaking cycles of unhealthy parenting and fostering more emotionally secure homes.
The phrase "eggshell parent" gained popularity in the early 2020s, especially on platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and mental health blogs, where young adults shared their experiences growing up in emotionally unpredictable homes. While the term doesn't have a single known creator, it built off the older expression "walking on eggshells" and was embraced by Gen Z and millennials talking about emotional health, trauma, and family dynamics.