The parent, sibling, spouse, employer, manager who ‘look after’ a matter because ‘they know’. The one who calls the other ‘a disaster in the kitchen’ or ‘a public danger at the wheel’. These comments are not to be taken too seriously and may even be signs of affection, often said with the victim’s consent. However, sometimes behind these imperceptible battles there lies a power game. The victim must be kept on edge and must not be entirely free (Come on, get to the point!). Successes are to be minimized (On your hundredth try, finally….), defects must be emphasized (I could have sworn that….). The little oppressor keeps attacks below a certain threshold never raising the voice too much or using offensive language or attacking physically, as this would offer the victim a valid pretext to react. The little oppressor never has time, but says that his/her victim has loads of time. The oppressor loves his/her victim but can’t resist the temptation to express views: the child who at the table lets a knife drop to the floor is not simply told to pick it up, but is reminded of his/her habitual clumsiness, all part of a general lack of maturity and never taking anything seriously. The little oppressor is an artist who mixes an anesthetic into his/her attacks (You are adorably immature…). With the excuse of saving the victim’s time the little oppressor takes things into his/her own hands (Let me speak…), (Let me see to this….). The little oppressor rarely gives orders but prefers to give kind advice (See you don’t burn the house down…), (Could you do something about the mess in the kitchen?), (Take off those shoes if you don’t want people to think you’re crazy).  With time victims lose faith in themselves and avoid their aggressors without realizing what is going on, because after all no-one died. For a victim to understand, he/she must have a critical sense, but this awareness comes only when one has been a victim for too long. To react the victim must not depend (by age, finances etc.) on the little oppressor who, to get his/her fix, depends on the dependence of his/her victim.