👶 What it means to have grown up with babying and infantilization by parents
Growing up with excessive protection meant your independence was systematically undermined, sending the clear message that you couldn't handle the world on your own.
You may have learned that normal childhood risks were painted as disasters waiting to happen, teaching you to fear rather than explore your environment. Your parent's anxiety became your anxiety through their constant over-involvement and overprotectiveness. You learned that speaking up or asserting yourself often made things worse, so you developed a survival strategy of learned helplessness—freezing, accommodating, and letting others take the wheel became your safest option.
You may have developed an incredible ability to surrender gracefully when situations become overwhelming, but this came at the cost of believing in your own capabilities. Decision-making feels overwhelming—you either freeze with complete indecision or swing to the opposite extreme and make impulsive choices just to assert some sense of control. You secretly believe you're less capable than others and need someone stronger to guide and protect you, which creates an unconscious attraction to partners who seem more decisive—even when they're actually less knowledgeable than you.