Children Should Not Carry Adult Communication
Sometimes I think about how easily children can become the bridge between people, systems, and communication.
As a Deaf parent, I know how important access is. I also know that when access is missing, children can quietly step into spaces that were never meant to belong to them.
A child may help once.
A child may want to help.
But helping and carrying responsibility are not the same thing.
What can look like support from the outside can sometimes place a child between adults, decisions, emotions, and information they should never have to manage.
Children deserve to be children.
The more I reflect on this, the more I return to the same truth:
Access is an adult responsibility.
Children deserve to grow in safety, not in responsibility.
This reflection comes from my perspective as a Deaf parent, shaped by my family, my experiences, and the CODA voices I have listened to over time.
