By Surabhi Ashok
The Glass Child Syndrome describes the challenges siblings of children with chronic illnesses or disabilities face, including the volatile emotions and anxieties they may have on a day-to-day basis.
Glass Children often feel looked over and neglected by their parents as they’re expected to put on a facade of togetherness in order to make life a little bit easier for the rest of their family.
Alicia Maples, in a TedX Talk called “Recognizing Glass Children” in San Antonio, Texas, said, “Every emotion that you feel—whether it’s pain, whether it’s anger, frustration, fear, concern, crises of faith that you are experiencing because of your special-needs child—your healthy child feels all of it too, but with the coping skills of a child.”
One specific paper in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology delved into the psychology of siblings of people with chronic illnesses or disabilities and found a slight yet overall significant negative effect. These include, according to another 2013 Pediatrics study, negative effects on mental health, interpersonal relationships, daily functioning, participation in school, and personal leisure.
Older siblings and siblings of people with a more serious illness tend to be more affected.
Glass children could be experiencing anger, anxiety, depression, and apathy to life in general. They could also be acting out as a way of getting their parents’ attention. These children however may also develop a greater cognitive empathy and achieve a level of understanding for others not very common in others of the same age group.
“We are called glass children because our parents are so consumed with the needs of our brothers and sisters that when they look at us, they look right through us as though we’re made of glass,” Maples said.
Extra support is a must. This can be done through professional avenues, such as both individual and family therapy or the Sibling Leadership Network which would help the siblings connect with others going through similar situations and give them the opportunity to feel like they’re making an impact. Support can also just be given at the familial level, ensuring that open discussion about the illness in question is established, parents setting aside time to spend with their kids alone, and developing personal goals outside of being a makeshift caregiver. Anxieties can also be calmed with discussions with healthcare providers as well that provide some clarity on the situation.
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