16-year-old caring for 14, 11, and 9-year-old siblings stops watching the other kids after parents dismiss his feelings: ‘They said as the oldest, they have high expectations for me’ – FAIL Blog

Valuable advice was dispensed after people read this teen’s plight! Their best advice? Leave ASAP, because he’ll never get out otherwise. A lot of families guilt their oldest child into believing the family would crumble without them, and that’s just simply not true. With the youngest being 9 years old, these kids are already pretty self-sufficient. I do hope that this teen is able to leave at 18 (the youngest will be 11 by then!) and pursue a life all his own. He’ll discover the freedoms that life has to offer when you’re not the family babysitter all the time — he can pursue his own hobbies, make new friends, and, most importantly, put his own needs front and center while Mom and Dad handle the siblings like they should’ve been doing since day 1.