They feel responsible for the children in the sense that they won't be around to provide for or console them. They feel responsible for the children in the sens

They feel responsible for the children in the sense that they won't be around to provide for or console them. They feel responsible for the children in the sense that they want to spare the world from having to deal with their inherited traits, for any sense of the word 'inherited' you like. They consider the children extensions of themselves, and so consider the job would be unfinished otherwise. If the family is like a tree, they don't want to excise themselves only, they want to lop off the branch.