10 Lessons About Mental Health From Bojack Horseman And Steven Universe
4. Adults Shouldn't Use Children As A Crutch For Their Issues
One of the best ways to prevent the childhood trauma mentioned in previous entries is to make sure children don't have to take the brunt of their parents's or guardians's issues.
Adults are human beings, but that doesn't give them licence to use kids as an emotional crutch, since all that does is transfer those issues to the younger generation.
Bojack takes the brunt of his parents's resentment toward each other, his mother abusing him verbally and father expecting him to hide his cheating while also being largely negligent. This clearly deeply affects him for a long time, even into his fifties.
In Steven Universe, Steven spends a lot of time fixing the issues of the three gems who are supposed to be his guardians and parental figures, with Pearl's obsession with Rose Quartz, Amethyst's insecurities, and all their history of war and conflict being put on Steven's shoulders.
Even the most mature children shouldn't carry the weight of their guardians's struggles and issues. The very least anyone in charge of or caring for a child should be able to do is be a source of stability, if only to allow them to have a childhood.