hm ok

he overworks his kids to the point of exhaustion. sometimes they were not allowed to rest.

leo is pressured so much he can’t be, y’know, a kid, because he’s only 15

the other three are pretty much neglected by splinter

raph never learned to control his emotions all because he was told “you must learn to control it” and pretty much just not to be angry and he was made fun of for being angry

splinter went out into battle with his sons very few times

mikey never matured past 5 or 6. wonder why. (hint: neglect)

on that note, mikey was never taken seriously. the other turtles think it’s okay to not take mikey seriously because splinter never took him seriously.

donnie was pressured to find a cure for karai to the point where he didn’t want to do it anymore. donnie was always being pressured because he was The Smart One and he was barely allowed to test the creations he WANTED to make (example being metalhead)

again. leo was pressured so much to be a great leader. poor dude never got a break.

most fights that broke out between the turtles were because splinter in a way. raph never learned to control his emotions, leo was favored so the other’s (especially raph) got jealous easily, leo didn’t WANT to be favored and was struggling to keep the team from fighting because they were never taught how to resolve arguments, mikey was just a joke to everyone, etc.

they’re only 15 and had to go save the world so many times with splinter MAYBE helping last minute. leo literally tried to sacrifice himself one time, and he is only 15.

the turtles probably dealt with so much trauma from their battles but they’re all in the wrong for being in a mood that isn’t calm.

which is funny considering how many times splinter was in an angry or strict mood.

he was also unfair. he grounded the turtles to stay in the lair for a week for skateboarding in the lair, which he never told the turtles they couldn’t do that and explains himself by saying he shouldn’t have to tell them. the turtles are teenagers, of course they’re gonna skateboard and play, and that’s what i mean by they’re not allowed to be kids.

when april asks him why won’t he help the turtles save the world he yells “i shouldn’t have to explain myself to a child!” to her. that’s uh bad if you didn’t know.

splinter cared more for karai than the sons he had right there. karai may be his first kid but he still had to care for the turtles.

the reason the rottmnt turtles get along so well and treat each other like a family that care about each other is because splinter in that version treats his kids like they were his kids, his family. not his clan or warriors that he must train. they call him “dad” in that version. they’re allowed to be teenagers and have an actual dad, not some strict sensei that rarely sometimes cares about them and hugs them maybe once or twice.