Amid a growing trend of parent-child estrangement, experts say recognizing the early warning signs may help families address problems before they escalate into a no-contact situation.
Nearly four in 10 Americans are currently estranged from at least one close family member, according to a 2025 YouGov poll of 4,395 U.S. adults. That includes 24% who reported estrangement from a sibling, 16% from a parent and 10% from a child.
While estrangement can sometimes seem sudden, experts say subtle changes may signal that a family relationship is beginning to unravel.
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Mary McLaughlin, a licensed couples and family therapist in Vienna, Virginia, said early signs may include an adult child becoming less willing to share details of their life directly with a parent.
“You might find out about the trip, the new relationship or a promotion at work at the same time everyone else does,” she told Fox News Digital.
The parent may still be in contact with the adult child, McLaughlin said, but the child no longer chooses to share parts of their life directly.
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Other potential warning signs may include skipping family holidays, birthdays or weddings; leaving texts and calls unanswered; and reducing communication to brief or sporadic exchanges, according to the expert.
The distance may become so noticeable that siblings, grandparents or other relatives comment that they have not seen or heard from the adult child in a long time.
A child who once readily joined family photos but begins stepping out of them may also be signaling that they are starting to see themselves as separate from the family, McLaughlin said.
Blythe Landry, a Pennsylvania-based therapist and founder of Blythe Landry Coaching, said other early signs may include a child becoming involved with a new social group that encourages estrangement over difficult conversations, or “beginning to rewrite history in a way that seems more damaging than what might have happened.”
The adult child may also become less willing to let a parent spend time with their grandchildren.
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The most telling sign may be a noticeable shift in the tone of the relationship, Landry said.
“You know your child, and you know when the energy has shifted in a direction that seems dramatically harsher than in previous interactions.”
Laura Wellington, a Connecticut mother who has been estranged from her adult daughter since 2024, said it can be challenging to distinguish early signs of estrangement from typical moves toward independence.
“It’s confusing to the parent because, a lot of times, they look like the general signs of a teenager moving into the young-adult zone — just pulling away and going off and establishing their lives,” she told Fox News Digital.
“That’s what I think confuses many parents, because they want to give them the space to start pulling away and showing signs of their own individuality and carving their path.”
“They don’t want to fight every battle, because if they fight every battle, then communication breaks down. So they try to pick and choose.”
One warning sign, according to Wellington, is if the child has an “I know everything, you know nothing” mindset.
“What’s happening in our society today is … a lot of ‘I know everything, you know nothing’ toward the parent,” she said. “There’s no respect for what the parents experience. There’s no tolerance for them speaking up and saying, ‘No, this is not what you should be doing.’”
In some cases, the child may begin treating the parent as a subordinate, according to Wellington.
Some parents begin to notice a shift when their adult children start treating them with disrespect, pushing back on their opinions and positioning themselves as the authority in the relationship, she said.
“They become the authority; they flip it. Anytime you say something, you’ll see them bark at the parent and push back on the parent. They really have no respect for the parent.”
Wellington also pointed to major differences in political, religious or lifestyle beliefs as a possible source of growing distance between parents and adult children.
She suggested that some young people who become estranged are “more liberal in thinking,” while acknowledging that the dynamic can also work in the opposite direction when a parent holds especially strong ideological views.
“There is extremism sometimes where the parent is extremely something, and then the child … goes the other way,” she said.
Richard Blake, Ph.D., a Texas-based psychology researcher who focuses on anxiety and family estrangement, said an adult child’s unwillingness to consider differing views may signal trouble.
He suggested that personality may play a role, with more argumentative adult children who are less willing to consider differing views potentially more prone to family estrangement.
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Another possible warning sign, according to Blake, is if the adult child has begun cutting off other people. He said parents should take note if an adult child has repeatedly stopped speaking to relatives or openly boasts about ending relationships.
“Chances are, they’re going to cut off someone else, and it may be the parent,” he said. “If you haven’t been cut off yet, you may be in the firing line there.”
Ongoing communication problems may be an early warning sign, Blake said, particularly when an adult child feels that a parent refuses to listen or acknowledge the child’s point of view.
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“They may say, ‘My parents just don’t listen. I cannot get through to them. It’s like talking to a brick wall.'”
Parents who consistently dismiss their children’s concerns should not be surprised when conflict develops, he said.
“If you don’t listen to your child, then don’t be surprised if you have conflict with them.”
Blake recommends listening actively, avoiding interruptions, repeating back what the other person has said and asking a simple follow-up question: “First, you say, ‘Is there more?'”
While there may be some early signs, Blake emphasized that estrangement can sometimes appear suddenly, with no warning.
“A lot of parents will say, ‘My child never told me the issue. We were best friends. And then I got a letter saying, never contact me ever again.’”
“That is a big problem. It’s like people don’t even know why they get cut off.”
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Landry noted that recognizing possible warning signs should prompt honest self-reflection, not just concern about the other person’s behavior.
“If there is an imminent estrangement, dig deep,” she advised. “Do you have a part? If so, is there a chance of rectifying it before it occurs?”