Wow look all that positive feedback!! Sure, her personality stands out, but ...... am I really alone in thinking society is f(u)cked-up if they need this ??? It's wrong on so many levels. She needs to be a kid in order to become an healthy adult.

The reason it's "very rare in this era" isn't because kids love their siblings any less, it's because for a while there, in the mid-twentieth century, we got quite good at identifying the root causes of poverty and taking action to eliminate them. Expect to see more stories like this as the strategy of rowing back on those achievements continues to gather momentum.

Those comments about her being the eldest and that this is a good thing is exactly why eldest daughters shoulder burdens they absolutely shouldn’t have to shoulder

Parentification is abuse. This happened to me from the age of 10 onwards: had smaller kids dumped on me all the time for years, without my permission, without even asking me first. It was just expected. Even àt weddings, parties, on holiday.... If anything happened, I got told off or scolded for not doing a good enough job while the adults could go off and relax. Zero pay. Just expectations. I now have no children of my own because I've done a lifetimes worth of parenting already. I'm done parenting. I'm still amazed at the entitlement of so many parents who think it's ok to dump their kids on others. If you can't look after them yourself, that's the sign you stop having more. You've reached your limit.

No neighbours? No Aunts or Uncles? Friends? Her studies prob suffer a bit

I don't think it's cute as well, even if it's a one-off. That's the same age difference between me and my sister and I'm sure I wouldn't be trusted to take care of an infant at 10 for more than 2 minutes (if one of my parents needed a toilet break or answer the door).

Parents continue to have children they can’t take care of. Physically or financially. Can’t afford a care giver. nothing to be applauded here. Sad

I think we are all missing the bigger picture here. It’s about poverty and government assistance. Not about the parents or the school. Sure the culture is collectivist, but that shouldn’t stop the advancement of social assistance programs to help single mothers. In western culture this is called “parentification” and is now considered a type of abuse.

Nah, this is 100% the Dad's way of telling her this is all you will ever be. So why bother with school. Life is so unfair for females.

It's called parentifying, and it's abuse.

That girl is doing a wonderful job, and is clearly a very caring older sister, but she shouldn't have to be doing this. It's awful that her family is in a position where they don't have adequate childcare. While I doubt the daughter would say that she's unhappy caring for her sister if asked, she's still a child and needs time to be a kid instead of having to care for her sister. Obviously watching a younger sibling at home for some time while a parent is out is one thing, but having to bring her sister to school is heartbreaking. That family deserves better. The girl is clearly a commendable, responsible, and caring older sister, but just because she *can* care for a child doesn't mean she *should*. She's ten, she needs to be learning long division and hanging from the monkey bars, not changing diapers and fixing bottles.

What kind of dystopian s**t is this?

When I read the headline, I thought the 10yo had a child. Glad it's just a sibling but this poor girl needs to be able to focus on her studies and have a life, not be a baby sitter...

While I see the concerns that some commenters have expressed, I think it's arrogant for us to judge this without understanding the culture. Is this a girl being parentified or just a girl in a more collective society content to play her role? I don't know and I bet the other commenters don't either. Regardless, I am impressed by the focus that Green exhibits.

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Wow these comments make me so sad. Westerners really don't understand anything about other cultures. If it doesn't fit our mold it needs to be changed. Go ahead try to "fix" it. You make judgements without understanding their world, their culture or their beliefs. She will probably turn out to be a stronger and better human being than a lot of kids being raised in Western Cultures who only think about what is in it for me? Is it perfect, is it right, is it abuse? It most definitely is not our place as Westerners to decide. Walk a mile in their shoes then maybe just maybe you can have some tiny right to judge.