Every classroom has one. The kid who checks on everyone else, remembers who forgot their lunch, calms down the kid who's crying before an adult even gets there. It reads as maturity. Sometimes it's actually the early signs of burnout in a very small body.
Why this kid is easy to miss
Caretaker kids rarely raise their hand for help, because raising their hand for help isn't the role they've settled into. They're too busy noticing everyone else's needs to have anyone notice theirs, and because they seem so capable, adults often don't think to check.
What it can look like when it catches up with them
Burnout in a caretaker kid doesn't always look like exhaustion. It can look like a sudden, out-of-character snap over something small, or a kid who seems fine and then completely shuts down all at once. The pattern isn't randomness. It's a kid who's been giving out more than they've been taking in, for longer than anyone noticed.
A character who runs on empty
Rramon, a Schnerds character who runs a burger stand and feeds every other character in the story, never quite gets around to feeding himself, until he's empty, and it comes out sideways as a snap at someone who didn't deserve it. It's a small, specific story about a big, common pattern.
What actually helps
Ask the caretaker kid directly, and specifically, not are you okay, which invites the reflexive yeah fine, but something more concrete, like who's been checking on you today. It's a different question, and it tends to get a more honest answer.
