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Child language brokering as a family care practice: Reframing the ‘parentified child’ debate
Author(s) -
Crafter Sarah,
Iqbal Humera
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/chso.12485
Subject(s) - cognitive reframing , vignette , normative , sociology , sociocultural evolution , context (archaeology) , power (physics) , gender studies , psychology , social psychology , political science , law , anthropology , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
This paper explores the perspectives of 29 child language brokers living in the UK who interpret for their family following migration. They were presented with vignette stories depicting a potentially conflictual situation between a language broker, a parent and an adult ‘other’ in a position of power or authority. Drawing on debates about language brokering as a family care practice, the ‘parentified child’ and discussions about non‐normative childhoods, the analysis highlights how the role played by the adult ‘other’, coupled with a sometimes‐hostile sociocultural context, can exaggerate tensions or facilitate interactions in the parent–child relationship. The young people's views and experiences illuminate how they navigate these complexities.