Radhika, 26, lives with her single mother and younger brother. Since her parents separated when she was nine, she had to take on significant responsibilities within the household. Her mother worked long hours to make ends meet, often leaving Radhika to handle day-to-day tasks.
“It fell on me to care for my brother, manage household chores and hold the centre. From catering to my loved ones’ needs to fixing everything at home, missteps were not an option,” she says. While her mother was grateful, she unintentionally relied on Radhika for emotional support as well, often sharing her financial apprehensions and personal frustrations with her.
What Radhika has endured is known as “parentification”, a term coined by Hungarian-American psychiatrist Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy in 1973. ‘Parentification of children’ refers to a role reversal between a child and their parent(s), where the child is placed in a position to act as the caregiver or emotional supporter for their parent; often having significant detrimental effects on the child’s mental health and development. Consultant psychiatrist and TEDx speaker, Dr Era Dutta, explains, “When you hear the word ‘Parent’, what are some associations that come to your mind? Adult, mature, responsible, taking care of others’ physical, emotional and monetary needs.
The word ‘Child’, brings to mind free-spirited, chirpy, immature, fun-loving, and perhaps even irresponsible behaviour. Now, imagine a child who behaves like.