Parents Forget Oldest Sister at McDonalds, Have No Idea

TikToker Autumn (@autumnnngracee) shared a hilarious video that's racked up a hefty 7.6M views, capturing a nostalgic family fail at McDonald's. The video, shot from the backseat, features her family in hysterics.

The text card reads, "Throwback to five years ago when my mom and dad both forgot my oldest sister at McDonald's and me and my middle sister wasn't going to say a word and then my mom finally noticed."

As the family of four drives along, minus the fifth member, the mother suddenly realizes the eldest daughter is missing. Laughter erupts as the mother exclaims, “We forgot Lindsey!” The father, maintaining a smirk, admits, "She went to the bathroom and I forgot."

TikTok users were loving the hilarity. One user commented, "The fact the sisters knew and just let it happen is gold. Such a sister thing to do." Another wrote, "Your mom’s voice cracking to laugh when she says, 'We forgot Lindsey!'😂😂😂." A third chimed in, "From now until eternity you will hear 'Like the time you forgot me at McDonald's!' 😂."

Autumn’s video isn’t the only epic family fail to hit TikTok. The platform is no stranger to them. Other viral moments include a dad dropping his daughter's first birthday cake, much to his wife's dismay, and a husband’s confusion over his wife's empty Christmas stocking, only to laugh it off. These moments remind us of the humor in everyday life, even amid chaos.

Depending on what your cultural background is and the type of familial dynamic you grew up in, being the eldest child could be a mixed bag.

This Reddit thread pointed to certain East and Southeast Asian familial situations where eldest sons are given preferential treatment over their other siblings.

This one Quora forum post also touched upon the phenomenon of eldest children being spoiled by their folks with a question posed by OP who asked: "Do parents tend to spoil their eldest children? If so, why? And how can you tell if your child is the eldest in their peer group?"

However, there were several people who remarked that they, as "the oldest child," were forced to grow up more quickly to take on responsibilities and expectations more aligned with what a parent would expect to provide to their own children, especially if they have younger siblings.

"Yes they do. I am the oldest child. My parents were never supportive of my life goals and aspirations," one person wrote in response to a sub question in the forum post that asked if parents are more strict with their oldest.

Another person asked: "Why do parents hate their eldest daughter? Why do they treat them so badly and love the youngest children?"

One person responded that sadly, this does seem like the case for them: "As an eldest daughter I have been wondering this for 38 years I don't know why parents do this they relied on me to do housework, to look after younger siblings, I dropped out of college to keep them happy, and they were still never happy."

Refinery29 published a story delineating the dynamics of eldest daughters in families with a blunt post titled: "Are you okay? Or are you an eldest daughter?"

The piece referenced this particular tweet, which states: "Being an eldest daughter is like an unpaid internship for the rest of your life."

Very Well Mind also published a piece on "oldest child syndrome" and wrote in the article that "being an oldest child can impact mental health."

The outlet spoke with licensed psychologist Brandy Smith, who stated: "If too much responsibility is placed on the oldest sibling, then the child may feel like they did not have enough of a childhood because of what they were asked to do as an oldest sibling."

The article went on to state: "If the family lacks healthy boundaries, this can lead to mental health struggles like anxiety and depression in the older sibling, Smith says. These potentially unhealthy boundaries can also impact relationships."

And while Autumn's video seems more like a light-hearted moment captured on camera more than anything, there are definitely people who would probably point to this as an example of older siblings getting the s--t end of the stick. But then again, middle children would probably say the same thing, as would the babies in the family.