Children should be free to be just that—children. They shouldn’t carry the weight of their parent’s emotions, learning to set aside their own feelings to maintain peace. This cycle teaches them to constantly read the room, striving to be the …
Tag: parentification
Parentification
Parentification is when a child takes on the role of a parent, assuming adult responsibilities and emotional caretaking within the family. When this happens, you develop ‘parts’ of you to cope with the situation:
The Effects of Drawing Children into Adult Conflicts
One of the most common examples of this is during a divorce. Both parents are vying for the emotional support of the children. They are consciously manipulating the children to align with them. This might take the form of comments …
Journalling for Parentified Children
I have found journaling to be an invaluable part of my healing journey. It is time just for me to contemplate my life, think about relationships, and have space to allow my intuition, different perspectives and ideas to come through. …
Why You Find Caregiving Exhausting as a Parentified Child
As a parentified child, one of the ways you received love and acceptance was through caring for your siblings and/or parents. This may have been expressed as a compulsion as an adult, which may have contributed to moving naturally into …
Healing for Those Who Were Parentified
Once you have connected with your inner child, the next thing to do is validate their feelings about their childhood experiences. This process can be painful and might be best done with a therapist. Over time, your inner child needs …
Parentification in Action
You might find this interesting! A study of 783 university students into the links between parentification and later adult wellness showed those who experienced parentification have an increased risk of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and substance abuse (Hooper, Marotta, & …
Some Reasons a Child Becomes An Adult Too Soon.
As I mentioned in the last post, there are two types of parentification: 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – Acting as a friend and confidant to a parent, becoming the peacemaker, emotionally supporting the family. I𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – helping the family with physical …
What is Parentification?
Not everyone who experiences parentification also experiences negative effects as adults. However, some of the things you may experience are a loss of a sense of playfulness and a feeling of not having had a fun childhood. There is often …
Journal Prompts For Those Who Were Parentified Children
I have found journaling to be an invaluable part of my healing journey. It is time just for me, where I can contemplate my life, think through relationships and have space to allow my intuition, different perspectives and ideas to …