EVALUATING PARENTIFICATION WITHIN THE SCOPE OF CHILD NEGLECT: AN ANALYSIS FROM A SOCIAL WORK PERSPECTIVE

This study aims to provide a comprehensive assessment from a social work perspective by examining parentalization within the context of child neglect. Parentalization is addressed as a problem that poses developmental risks, arising from children assuming adult roles inappropriately for their developmental level and the persistence of this behavior. Within Turkey's socio-cultural structure, the normalization of girls taking on family responsibilities at an early age sometimes reduces the visibility of parentalization and makes it an invisible form of neglect. The study draws attention to the dimension of parentalization as a violation of children's rights and also addresses its relationship with emotional neglect. The discipline of social work evaluates parentalization not only as an individual problem but as the result of a set of structural factors and intervenes with the principle of the best interests of the child in mind. Family counseling and school-based social work practices are discussed in terms of detecting parentalization early and preventing it effectively. In conclusion, it is emphasized that parenting should be made visible in child protection systems and integrated into social work policies.