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Originally Posted by jtee  Having children take care of other children as full time responsibility does concern me as well. In the case of this family I don't know how much responsibility is expected. Some, age appropriate, responsibility can be a good thing. It could make them better parents when they get older.
The downside I see is that the parents could inhibit their children natural development because the parents have more than they can handle, thus the children will struggle as adults because they were blocked from having the kind of childhood experience needed be a healthy/happy adults. There are many things that are best experienced in childhood so that there is no need to have those experiences when they are adults. |
Having the older children responsible for the younger has been the way large families work for generations. My mother comes from a family of nine, and was the second oldest girl. She remembers being in HS and being responsible for getting three of her younger siblings up and ready for school in the mornings. All of the children were very close to their parents until their deaths, and remain close to each other...it's a very loving, caring atmosphere when we're all together, and there is nothing that any of us wouldn't do for each other, even though now we're spread all over the country.
I guess I'm just saying that the experience of childhood is whatever you make of it. If you believe that it should be building a close relationship with your siblings and parents, then you'll enjoy doing that. If you believe it should be devoted to YOU, then you'll enjoy doing that.