This article examines the psychological, emotional, and developmental impact on children who are born into or raised within cultic or high-demand groups. Drawing on clinical literature, survivor accounts, and developmental theory, it argues that cults function as totalizing social systems that profoundly distort normal family structures, identity formation, and emotional growth. Unlike adult converts, children have no precult reference point, making them uniquely vulnerable to control, abuse, and developmental harm. The article also explores the complex challenges second-generation members face when leaving and recovering from these environments.