Oversized Loads: Child Parentification in Low-Income Families and Underlying Parent–Child Dynamics

Abstract

Research on the phenomenon of parentification has focused on the positive and negative outcomes of imposing tasks and responsibilities on children that are typically ascribed to adults. This qualitative research instead explores processes underlying parentification in low-income families in Singapore using the perspective that children are active agents in accommodating and negotiating their parents’ attempts to transfer care responsibilities to them. An implication of the findings is that practitioners should make a paradigm shift when working with parentified children. Instead of treating them as victims of family deprivation, more attention should be given to tapping their strengths in the intervention process.