Mum slammed for complaining that 21-year-old son won't help with young siblings

A mum has been slammed online after she complained her 21-year-old son won't help her with his younger siblings.

There is no questioning that being a mum is a difficult job, and that is particularly the case for single mums.

Most parents are likely to ask their oldest child to help with the younger siblings, which isn't exactly what the older sibling signed up for, is it?

But while the eldest child can help to some degree, should there be some boundaries as to how far the help goes? They do have their own life after all.

This scenario is known as parentification - which is a modern term that essentially means a child taking on the role and responsibilities of an adult.

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One mum took to Reddit to explain her situation with her 21-year-old son Danny, who she was on holiday with, as well as her 10-year-old twin girls Sophia and Lisa, Joshua, 17, and Emily, 1.

Unfortunately, her husband pulled out of the holiday at the last minute for works reasons, which obviously brought a lot of hassle to the mum.

She explained how the twins 'cried A LOT' on the holiday, while Joshua helped Emily.

But the mum added Danny 'stood doing nothing', before adding: "Whatever we did, Danny was absent for it. Like for example, going to the beach, banana boats, Luaus, and watching his younger sisters when they just wanted to go to the pool, he'd stay in his room on his phone, chatting with his friends."

She continued: "I hated having to put most of the work on Josh because he wanted to have fun too, and my daughters [were] helping with the baby.

"I called him down to help, but he said he 'wanted to relax and chill.

"We literally came here to relax, chill, and have FUN, though we weren't having lots of fun with less help, a crying baby, two 10-year-olds who wanted to go to the pool, and my other son who wanted to get away from his sisters for at least an hour. It was a mess."

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Obviously having to look after all them kids when some are not on their best behaviour can be especially challenging.

In anger, the mum told Danny: "If you can't step up and help the woman who gave birth to you, lets you live in her house rent free, while giving you a job, whose money you just spend on silly games instead of getting an apartment, then you can get out of my house and pay for your own stuff."

If you head to the comment section of the Reddit post, you'll find that the majority are on the side of Danny's.

"It was your choice to give birth to five kids. Not Danny's," one person penned.

Another added: "He's not your husband or the father of your kids."

The mum did have some supporters though, with one person writing: "Danny is an adult now. He's 21, so if he wants a free vacation with his family he better be prepared to pitch in and act like a member of said family."