UNIT 3

LISTENING 2: Growing Up Quickly

Lecturer: Good morning. Today we're going to talk about the issues faced by children who have to take on adult
responsibilities before they are 18.

First, let me tell you a story of a kid in this situation. Let's call him Bill. Bill's father died before he was born, and
for a few years his mother was a single parent. Then his mom (1) ……………………….. and had another child. Bill
worked hard in school, but he (2) ………………………………to help his mother take care of his younger brother.

This is a common situation for children like Bill. They are (3) ……………………. to act like adults for a wide variety of
reasons. In Bill's case, a young (4) ……………………….. gave him adult responsibilities. In other situations, a parent is
sick, so the child has to take care of the sick parent. Sometimes, when parents divorce or one dies, a child takes
on responsibilities such as cooking and cleaning. Or, in some (5) ……………………….. families, a child may be the only
family member who speaks the new language, so he or she has to (6) ………………………….. for the parents at school
or at the doctor's office. Although kids often want to help their families, too much responsibility can be a (7)
………………………. for them. They may feel they are giving up their childhoods.

An important term regarding these children is (8) …………………………... When we talk about parentification, we're
saying that the child is taking on some of the (9) ………………………… and responsibilities of a parent. A ten-year-old
who's making dinner every night, a 12-year-old who's in (10) ……………………………. of getting her siblings ready for
school every morning, a 16-year-old who picks the younger kids up from school, or who goes to the parent
teacher meetings for a sibling, all of these kids are (11) ……………………… in a way.

However, some kids don't just act as parents to their younger brothers or sisters. Some take care of their

mothers or fathers. They (12) …………………….. roles with their own parents. When you have this role reversal, the

parents are so sick that they can no longer act in their (13) …………………………….. role. The children cook for them,

shop for (14) ……………………, even dress their parents, bathe them, and put them to bed. The children make the
important (15) …………………. The needs of the parents become more important than the needs of the child.

In less (16) ………………….. cases, kids have to take care of their parents or another family member, but the

parents are still in charge. So, for example, if a mother has a (17) ……………. illness and is too weak to get out
of bed, the child may cook dinner or go to the grocery store, but the mother is still the parent in the relationship.
She is the one who makes decisions and provides (18) …………………… to the child; she just can't physically do
everything a parent does.

Okay, so kids are forced to grow up quickly for a variety of reasons. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well, it
depends on the situation and on the child. As you might guess, the ones who (19) …………………… the most are the
kids who reverse roles with a parent. Because role reversal happens in cases where the parents have the most
problems and are the least (20)………………..their children often feel more isolation. They may be (21)
…………………… by the situation at home. They may feel (22) ……………………… about how regular kids or teens are
supposed to act. But many kids with adult responsibilities, not just those where the roles are reversed, resent
their responsibilities, and see their duties at home as (23)………………………. to a happy social life. They can't go
out and have fun. They feel a lot of (24) ………………………….., and they have a lot of stress.
So which kids do the best? Probably the young care givers who take on responsibilities only for a short period of
time and at an older age. Also, kids who feel supported by their families or who get support from school or other
adults usually do much better. And there can be (25) ………………… effects for children with some adult
responsibilities. These kids often care more about others. They get (26) ……………………….. from helping people.
Many of these kids grow up to become teachers, (27) ……………………, and health professionals. In fact, remember
that kid Bill I told you about earlier? That was Bill Clinton, who later became president of the United States.