A role reversal where a child is given adult responsibilities or becomes emotionally responsible for taking care of parents or siblings. This can be instrumental (practical tasks) or emotional (providing comfort and support to adults).
Coined in the 1960s by family therapist Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, combining 'parent' with the suffix '-ification' meaning 'the process of making.' The concept describes how children are prematurely thrust into adult roles, literally being made into parents before they're developmentally ready.
Parentified children often become incredibly capable and responsible adults, but they may struggle to receive care from others because they never learned it was safe to be vulnerable. They're like emotional old souls trapped in young bodies, wise beyond their years but robbed of their childhood innocence.
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