When you’ve got a brother or sister, no matter their age, it’s likely you’ll tangle with each other from time to time. After all, sibling rivalry is a thing for a reason, and sometimes one of you might feel like the other is being treated like the favorite child by a parent.
For one teen, they always felt like their younger brother could do no wrong in their mother’s eyes, especially when it came to waking up on time. Sick and tired of his tardiness, they went out of their way to teach him a lesson one day.
More info: Reddit
Siblings don’t always get along, but this teen’s younger brother had them tearing their hair out with his constant tardiness
Image credits: Julia M Cameron / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Time and time again he’d get out of bed late, forcing either the teen or their mom to bail him out for missing the bus
Image credits: Matthis Volquardsen / Pexels (not the actual photo)
After he missed the bus once again, his sibling was forced to get up early on their day off to take him to school, but this time they had a few tricks up their sleeve
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
After coming up with a bunch of ways to delay their departure, they eventually got him to school, just not on time
Image credits: mossy_little_log
The teen went on to share that they hoped this taught him a lesson about making anyone late, but doubted it considering he’s such an imbecile
OP begins their story by telling the community that they're a senior in high school, their brother’s a sophomore, and they drive him to school every morning even though he could take the bus. OP goes on to say that they've warned him many times that they'll leave without him if he isn’t ready on time, resulting in him having to take the bus on a few occasions.
They say the issue is that he often misses the bus, forcing his mom to take him to school, but that he never gets scolded or given ultimatums about his chronic tardiness.
Well, one day was a senior skip day for OP, meaning they wouldn’t have to go to school. OP says that their mom and older brothers were leaving early that day, so their always-late brother would have to make the bus or rely on OP getting up early to take him in. Of course, he didn’t get up in time, so it was once again OP’s job to bail him out.
OP says that, since it was their day off, they decided to have a little fun, coming up with several ways to delay their departure. After they’d done that, they say the traffic was a nightmare too, resulting in their brother arriving late for class. To add insult to injury, he was in such a rush to get inside that he tripped and fell flat on his face.
In an update to their post, OP shares that, although some commenters had suggested they should have left him high and dry at home, their mother had given them a stern warning that, if he missed the bus, OP would definitely have to take him to school.
At the same time, his mother had actually warned him that if he didn’t catch the bus, he’d be in trouble - something of a first, according to OP - and he did end up getting scolded. Despite all this, OP still doubts he’ll ever learn his lesson.
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
From what OP tells us in their post, it would seem that their brother lacks any sort of self-discipline and hasn’t, until OP stepped in, felt the consequences for it. If you’ve ever dealt with someone who thinks the world owes them something, you know how frustrating it can be. So, what can be done about OP’s brother’s chronic tardiness?
As it turns out, it all comes down to developing self-control, something that can be challenging for teens.
In her article for VeryWellMind, Kendra Cherry writes that self-control is the ability to regulate and adjust your responses to avoid undesirable behaviors, increase desirable ones, and achieve long-term goals.
One long-term study concluded that high levels of self-control in childhood led to greater respiratory, cardiovascular, and dental health in adulthood, as well as better financial security.
OP’s brother could start cultivating his self-control by avoiding temptation, planning ahead, and reminding himself of the consequences of undesirable behavior, like getting scolded for getting to school late.
Bored Panda reached out to licensed clinical social worker and author Robert Taibbi to get his take on the matter.
When we asked Taibbi whether he thought the chronically late brother had learned his lesson, he had this to say, "What motivates people are problems and values, mostly problems, but it's their problems not the other person’s problems."
Taibbi continues, "So, if getting to school late was really a problem for him, or if the sister explained how frustrating and hurtful it felt to her when he didn’t step up, and because he cares about his sister and doesn’t want to hurt her, making this a problem for him — he might be motivated to change his behavior. If he has no problem with running late and it is only the sister’s problem, he might not make any changes."
We asked Taibbi for one piece of advice he'd offer someone trying to instill a sense of self-discipline in their teen.
He responded, "Don’t enable—people are shaped by dealing with the consequences of their decisions and behaviors. Encourage them to get into structured activities and take on challenges, and address any underlying problems such as anxiety or depression."
What would you have done if you’d found yourself in OP’s shoes? Do you think their brother will ever learn his lesson? Let us know your opinion in the comments!
In the comments, readers suggested that the teen should have refused to take their brother to school at all, but congratulated them for taking a stand since they're not their brother’s parent
