TIE HoyDoctor, landlord, phone calls — my child translates everything
You think your child helping translate is being mature — what they are not telling you is that every time they interpret, they carry pressure no child that age should bear.
What is wrong with my child helping translate?
At the doctor your child translates symptoms and diagnoses. On the phone with the insurance company they handle contract terms. At the petrol station they call a stranger to request a fuel code.
Each time the child carries not just language conversion — but decision pressure, emotional weight and role reversal. They are doing an adult’s job.
But we genuinely need the help — what do we do?
Acknowledge the reality and reduce the burden at the same time.
Things you can handle yourself (simple emails, shopping) — start learning to do them.
Things that genuinely need the child: tell them in advance what the situation is and roughly what to say. Don’t pull them in cold.
Afterwards, thank them. Let them know you know it is not easy.
What to do
List every situation in the past month where your child translated. Which ones can you learn to handle yourself?
Bring
- One-month translation log
- Scenes I can learn
Steps
- List the past month’s translation situations.
- Sort: which can I learn to do myself vs genuinely need child.
- For must-have situations: brief the child in advance.
- Thank them afterwards.
Basis
Language brokering in immigrant families is well documented. Research shows it creates emotional stress and role confusion for children, especially in medical and legal contexts.
More questions
But my child can practise too?
Yes, but practice and forced responsibility are two different things.
Asking for directions at the supermarket is practice. Translating a diagnosis at the doctor is burden. The difference: who bears the consequence of failure.