In psychology, there's a term called the parentified child. This is usually due to the family system not working the way it's supposed to. For example, in a Western family there would be the parents and the children. If mom or dad aren't able to serve the roles that they typically would (e.g., provide for the kids' basic needs), then there is a role reversal where the children might step up and taken care of themselves or their siblings. This is sometimes seen in the family where a parent is an alcoholic.
Sometimes, it may seem that Asian American families appear to have parentified children. For example, one of the children might be designated to call credit card companies or read mail on behalf of the parents. While it may appear to be dysfunctional, the difference is that the child is not truly parentified (the power structure of the family system hasn't changed). Instead, the child is serving as a linguistic or cultural broker on behalf of the family. This is not uncommon for immigrant or refugee families. This is also differentiated from the families of parentified children because children who serve as language/cultural brokers may still need to defer to their caregivers for their other basic needs.
What other ways are Asian vs. Western families different in the American culture?
