It’s not news to observe that children often end up serving as interpreters and translators for family members with limited command of English. But recently University of California researchers delved into a largely unexplored area regarding the complicated intersection of words, body language and facial expressions that children are being asked to simultaneously process and communicate to their elders.

The result: kids are left to grapple with situations that they don’t expect, or dimly understand themselves. Observes UC researcher Sivenesi Subramoney, children are often proud of their role and responsibility, but “they aren’t nearly as prepared to interpret the unspoken. Emotion brokering catches them off guard and can lead to escalation, frustration or embarrassment.”

Read more about what Subramoney calls “emotion brokering” here.