That's not what his parents "wants" because they also know it's not "genuine" but they don't have the heart to speak up. More reasons why his parents need be upfront and let his older siblings know how they really feel about these just for "show" or "face" events.
And nope, no "tears of joy" as his parents also know it's fake. After the event, they have no problems expressing their complaints to my friend of how they really feel because he's their care provider and the only child that they feel still care about them. Which is why his parents gotta stop holding the pressure in and be upfront and release some pressures by rejecting those events unless it's genuine. They can secretly complain to my friend all they want but don't think it'll do much...It should to come straight from them. That way they'll know sure if their other children really give a damn by visiting more or not as action is more important than words.
My friend is caught in the middle so this family drama is stress that he doesn't need.
Those two comments are contradicting. If they still need confirmation whether their other children cares about them then how do they know that the events are fakes? With more information being added now, the problem might not be so clear. I'm not saying that I am correct, but it seems like it is your friend, who has a problem with his siblings and not the parents.
Action is more important than words? It depends. Many times it is , but it isn't the "rule" especially in this situation. We as humans are a social species. We interact with each language through the usage of our actions and words. Sometimes words are just used for making excuses, telling lies, etc, and don't mean how the person really feels. In this case, the actions may be more important than words. But other times, words may be more important than actions. Because many times, we misinterpret someone's actions, and that's when words are needed to explain what the individual actually feels.
The parents are complaining about their children, and yet, they are still allowing them to do events. Their actions are showing that they do want the events. And that is what their actions are telling their children. But if they need to their children otherwise, their words are more important.
.....
That's not what his parents "wants" because they also know it's not "genuine" but they don't have the heart to speak up. ....
How do you, or your friend, know if that's not what the parents want? Whether or not the parents know that it's not "genuine", is irrelevant. It has nothing to do with what they want.
To me, this all seems to be more on how your friend feels, and not particularly about what his parents feel. And he is just using his siblings' actions as a way of justification for how he feels about the unfairness in his family, more specifically, he being treated unfairly.