Parentification
A reversal of roles in which a child takes on care that should have been a parent's.
How it shows up in daily life
A child who comforts their mother, mediates between the parents or looks after younger siblings. From outside they look mature and well behaved. The cost shows later: difficulty asking for help, difficulty resting, automatically taking on care for the other person in relationships.
What we do with it in therapy
This isn’t about blaming parents — parentification most often arises from difficulty, not from malice. It is about acknowledging what you carried, and learning that your worth doesn’t depend on how much you make things easier for others.
