I've experienced moments when people look towards my children instead of me during a conversation.
It makes me think about how easily children can be drawn into responsibilities that belong to adults.
Helping out is part of family life. But there's a difference between a child offering help and an adult expecting them to manage communication.
As a Deaf mum, that distinction matters to me.
I don't want my children growing up believing that making conversations accessible is their responsibility.
Sometimes I wonder about the roles we become used to in childhood.
Being the one who steps in.
Finding it difficult to step back.
Putting someone else's needs before our own.
Some roles fade as children grow. Others may remain familiar long after childhood ends.
I can't know which experiences my children will carry into adulthood or how they'll understand them later. Those experiences are theirs to describe.
But I can pay attention to the expectations placed on them now.
A responsibility can become familiar in childhood.
That doesn't mean it should have belonged to the child.
REFLECTIVE QUESTION
What might we overlook when a child's willingness to help becomes something adults begin to expect?
