UPDATE: Things are starting to change at home, but it's still a tough situation

Thanks to everyone who commented and offered advice on my last post. I took a lot of it to heart and had a serious conversation with my parents yesterday about how I was feeling and the impact it was having on my life.

To give some more context, my dad works as a construction site manager, and my mom is an account executive at an international marketing firm. Both of their jobs require them to work long hours from 6 AM to 6 PM, with a break from 12 to 1 PM. It's clear they have demanding schedules, and I understand that they are doing their best to provide for our family.

After our talk, they acknowledged that they had been putting too much on my shoulders and apologized for making me miss my friend's birthday party. They explained how difficult it has been for them to balance work and family, especially since my mom's promotion last year. They genuinely hadn't realized how much it was affecting me.

Since it's summer, there's no school to give me a break during the day. I have to watch my siblings all day long, which is really hard. The 10-year-old and 7-year-old have summer reading and activities that I need to help them with, and the 4-year-old needs constant attention and supervision. On top of that, cooking lunch and dinner and managing their energy levels leaves me with almost no free time. By the time my parents get home, I'm exhausted and barely have time for myself or to hang out with my friends.

For those suggesting I take a part-time job as a babysitter, I really have no intention of doing that. I don't even want to have children in the future because taking care of them is so hard. Living in Italy also makes things different compared to other countries, and finding a balance here is challenging.

My daily routine is intense. My 4-year-old sister sometimes wakes me up, or I wake up by myself. As soon as I'm up, I take her to the bathroom where we shower, I brush her teeth, and then I dress her. After that, I go straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone. Once breakfast is done, I give my siblings their iPads to watch YouTube videos. The 10-year-old and 7-year-old go to their room to watch, while the 4-year-old uses her iPad in the living room. Sometimes they sit quietly, other times they start fighting, depending on their moods.

After breakfast, I start preparing lunch. Once lunch is ready, my mom usually comes home and takes it to my dad's workplace where they eat together. I then clean up and go through the same routine in the afternoon. At 4 PM, I start preparing dinner. By the time dinner is ready, my mom and dad are usually home. We all eat together, and after dinner, my dad showers followed by my mom. We then gather in the living room to watch TV. At 9 PM, my parents sometimes stay up late or go to bed early, depending on how their day went.

Despite their understanding, we still can't afford to hire a babysitter full-time. My parents are trying to make changes where they can, like my dad adjusting his break times to come home earlier when possible or my mom working from home one day a week to give me some respite. They're also looking into summer programs for my younger siblings, but nothing has been decided yet.

I’m hopeful that with these small changes, things will get better. My parents have promised to continue looking for solutions and to be more mindful of my needs and schedule. In the meantime, I'm trying to manage as best as I can and take things one day at a time. I’m grateful for the support and understanding from everyone who commented—it really helped me to see that I wasn’t being unreasonable and that my feelings are valid.And this is where things are now I really love you all guys