Psychologytoday iconPsychologytodaySep 4, 2026

Why Parents Are Shocked When an Adult Child Goes No Contact

Why do some parents feel blindsided by estrangement? Other times, "I have no idea why" becomes a way to avoid accountability.

Why Parents Are Shocked When an Adult Child Goes No Contact

Share this story

Send the public story page.

Useful takeaways from this story.

Other times, "I have no idea why" becomes a way to avoid accountability.

Why do some parents feel blindsided by estrangement? Sometimes they truly miss the signs. Other times, "I have no idea why" becomes a way to avoid accountability.

Building the complete brief

The page is ready to read now. The fuller skim-friendly version will appear here automatically.

The useful part

Why do some parents feel blindsided by estrangement? Other times, "I have no idea why" becomes a way to avoid accountability.

Details worth keeping

Why do some parents feel blindsided by estrangement? Other times, "I have no idea why" becomes a way to avoid accountability.

Keep reading in the app

Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.

Open in app