Despite living thousands of miles apart, my sister and I still bicker a lot, but I can’t imagine my life without her. Not everyone is fortunate enough to end up with such an awesome sibling, though, and sometimes, parents have a lot of influence in this bond.
For instance, this 17-year-old barely shares a relationship with his elder brother since their parents always treated the elder one like the golden child. After bottling up this mistreatment for ages, the younger one finally snapped, but the couple couldn’t handle the truth and lashed out against him!
More info: Reddit
Parents have a huge influence when it comes to how siblings bond with each other
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The 17-year-old poster has an elder brother (Sam), who has always been the golden child of the family
Image credits: Cayswoous
Image credits: teksomolika / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Whether it be birthday presents or playing a favorite sport, Sam always got what he wanted, but the poster was always neglected while growing up
Image credits: Cayswoous
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
For so many years, the poster bottled up all this favoritism that he went through, but one day, he snapped when his parents asked him to fix the house
Image credits: Cayswoous
They are selling it, but didn’t even tell him about it, so he refused to help them and even accused them of always mistreating him
Today’s story is quite sad as the original poster (OP) laments about his parents, who always favor his elder brother (Sam). This has been going on ever since the two brothers were kids, and everyone in the family acknowledges it. In fact, his cousins used to tease him that his parents might sell him if they went broke, just so they could spoil Sam.
Whether it be his birthday or Christmas, the golden child always gets what he wants. They even tell their relatives what to give him, which might go with their presents, like video games or jerseys. On the other hand, not much thought is put into OP’s gifts, and he’s generally given clothes. The couple is so toxic that when his grandparents gave him a game he wanted, they took it away.
Even when it came to playing a sport, they signed Sam up at many places for football since he loved it so much. Meanwhile, when OP wanted to join hockey, the parents straight out refused and only agreed when OP’s grandparents offered to pay. Moreover, they always insisted on “supporting” the family when Sam had a game, but barely showed any interest in OP’s games.
The poor poster must have felt heartbroken, just bottling all this up for all these years! One day, he finally snapped when his parents asked for his help to fix the house since they plan to sell it. OP was shocked as he had no idea about it, but they reasoned that they had told Sam, who doesn’t even live there anymore.
Well, he retorted that they should ask for his help instead, and then literally vomited out all the unfairness that he had witnessed growing up. However, this just angered the couple, so they reached out to ask other family members, who all sided with the poster. The parents simply lost it, and ever since, they have been furious with their younger son.
Image credits: Stockbusters / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Believe it or not, but parental favoritism is extremely common and occurs in around 65% of families. As we can see in the story, this discrimination can truly make a person feel awful. Experts also warn that it can negatively impact children’s psychological development, leading to issues such as low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression in the less-favored child.
In fact, studies show that up to 40% of people felt lonely growing up in families where favoritism existed. Even the poster might have felt this way when he could see how the couple fulfilled all of Sam’s whims and fancies, but did the bare minimum for him. The fact that a lot of their family members also vouched for OP shows how blatantly this favoritism has been happening for years.
However, what the parents fail to realize is that their behavior is also affecting Sam. Research suggests that the favored child may develop a sense of entitlement and become used to getting their way, which can lead to problems. It can affect how they act in school, work, or friendships, and also affect their ability to sustain mature romantic relationships.
This just shows that their “precious” Sam might have a tough life, all thanks to them. Moreover, the way the poster talks about Sam doesn’t really seem like they share a bond. Research has shown that such favoritism can also spark a sibling rivalry, increase tension and conflict, and completely hamper their bond.
It’s sad that in a world where having a sibling can help with a healthy life, it’s the parents who are taking it away from their children. Many people advised the poster to ditch his parents, and he really plans to do that, but his grandparents will only take him in after he’s 18. Well, I hope he finds the strength to put up with his toxic parents till then.
What about you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Netizens were aghast at his neglectful parents, and many suggested that he should ditch them and live with his grandparents
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