How does the narrative point of view affect the presentation of events in this story?

Since the story is narrated from the perspective of a young boy, readers are able to better identify with his decisions and level of understanding.
The decisions the narrator makes wouldn't be sympathetic from an adult perspective, but they are more understandable as the reader hears them from the perspective of a ten-year-old boy. Readers can see how he struggles to take care of his mother and the pride he takes in everything he does right. However, he's not an adult. When he goes to pick up medicine for her, he makes himself sick drinking it. That night, the roles are set right when his mother forgives him and tucks him back into bed.
The narrative point-of-view also helps readers grasp the level of understanding that the narrator has. He doesn't fully comprehend everything that's happening around him, because he has the limited experience of a child. He's not sure why the little girl influences him to drink the medicine. He's not sure how to take care of his mother properly. The stress on him is immense in the story, and he doesn't grasp that; instead, he berates himself when he doesn't do what he believes needs to be done perfectly.

The story is told from the point of view of the boy who must look after his mother during her illness. The events of the story seem more serious because the boy is not able to view what is happening from an experienced perspective. Consequently, his emotions are heightened. He takes inordinate pride in being able to build a fire and make a cup of tea for his mother, he is more fearful than he needs to be in procuring the whiskey from the pub for her, and the depth of his guilt over consuming his mother's cough medicine is an overreaction. In fact, his mother's routine recovery from an ordinary illness is hardly the miracle he prayed for, and Minnie Ryan does not "despise" him in the way that he assumes.