diff --git a/neo/core/container.py b/neo/core/container.py
index 89554a139..716ce32b6 100644
--- a/neo/core/container.py
+++ b/neo/core/container.py
@@ -514,7 +514,8 @@ def merge(self, other):
                     lookup[obj.name] = obj
                     ids.append(id(obj))
                     getattr(self, container).append(obj)
-                obj.set_parent(self)
+                if self.__class__.__name__ in obj._parent_objects:
+                    obj.set_parent(self)
 
         # use the BaseNeo merge as well
         super().merge(other)