The Generic1 class is polykinded. The DeriveGeneric extension can derive Generic1 instances for types of kind k -> * parameterized over a parameter with a kind other than k ~ *, but only if they don't apply the parameter to other types.

It currently cannot derive an instance for

newtype Fix f = In (f (Fix f))
  deriving (Generic1)

or for

data Child f = Child {
    ordinal :: Int,
    nickname :: f String
}
  deriving (Generic1)

It's possible to represent these types generically, either with composition that can include occurrences of the parameter or with new types that represent applications of the parameter.