Letters and Phone Calls Are Not a Child’s Job
Sometimes I think about how ordinary adult communication can seem.
A letter arriving through the door.
A phone ringing.
A message that needs responding to.
Most people would not think twice about these moments.
As a Deaf parent, I have spent time reflecting on what happens when a child becomes part of communication that was never meant to belong to them.
It may begin with something small.
Reading a letter.
Making a call.
Passing on information.
A child may want to help.
A child may feel capable.
A child may simply be responding to what is needed in that moment.
All of those things can be true.
But the more these moments become expected, the easier it becomes for a role to form around them.
What began as helping can slowly become responsibility.
The more I reflect on this, the more I believe children deserve the freedom to experience childhood without carrying adult communication on their shoulders.
Letters and phone calls are not a child's job.
