Slovak Woman Reflects on Growing Up as the 'Glass Child' of a Sibling with Disabilities

Alžbeta Tvrdá grew up as what psychologists call a 'glass child' — a sibling who is effectively invisible to parents because the needs of a disabled brother or sister dominate family life. In her family, where a sibling with a disability naturally required most of the parental attention, Tvrdá adapted by becoming self-sufficient, reliable, and undemanding, traits she regarded at the time as simply normal. It was only after becoming a mother herself that she began to recognize the lasting impact of that upbringing — in the high expectations she placed on herself, the compulsive need to manage everything independently, and a deep-seated difficulty asking for help. Reflecting on the experience, she says she has come to feel gratitude toward her parents, a shift in perspective that took years of adult life and her own parenting journey to reach. The 'glass child' phenomenon, while not widely discussed in Slovak public discourse, describes a pattern recognized by family therapists in which neurotypical siblings of children with disabilities carry hidden emotional burdens that go unaddressed precisely because they appear to be coping well.