People change, but I wonder if their love for their children also changes. It’s painful to think about because I have read a couple of stories lately where parents almost give up on their kids. It can totally ruin the little ones to see this happen.
Just look at this teen who was devastated as his mom started neglecting him when he was 11. However, it broke his heart when she started favoring his stepsiblings over him, so he gave her a taste of her own medicine after growing up. Read on to uncover what he did!
More info: Reddit
Watching a loving parent suddenly turn into a neglectful one can be utterly devastating for kids
Image credits: freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The poster's parents divorced when he was 4, but things drastically changed with his mom when he was 11 and she started dating her current husband
Image credits: drobotdean / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Her whole life was focused on her husband's young kids, while she slowly started neglecting the poster, which utterly broke his heart
Image credits: Kampus Production / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Moreover, she also started favoring her stepkids over her own son, and when he called out her behavior, she told him to stop being "jealous"
Image credits: freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
This favoritism kept repeating, and she promised to fix it, but nothing really changed, so the poster started hating her and her stepkids
Image credits: Consistent-Prize4150
When she demanded that he come visit her stepkids, the poster put his foot down and decided to ignore them as she ignored him, but this just angered her
In today’s tragic tale, the original poster (OP) laments his falling-out with his mom. He had a good relationship with both his parents after they divorced when he was 4. Things changed drastically when he was 11 and his mom started dating her current husband. Her husband's kids were very young, and they became the center of her universe, while she started neglecting her own biological son.
That must have stung as OP was still a child, and he shared a few heartbreaking instances. From prioritizing her stepkids’ needs to not even showing up to meet the poster, his mother made him go through brutally rough days. The worst part was that when he confronted her about how she cared more about her stepkids, she got mad at him. She also snapped that he shouldn’t be jealous of the little ones.
Instances of her blatant favoritism towards them kept recurring. Each time, she promised the poster that she would try to “fix” things. However, nothing really changed, and our guy eventually gave up on her. In fact, he also started hating her and resented his stepsiblings, even though he knew that they were not in the least at fault in this situation.
Things got dramatic when OP grew up and his mom started asking him to visit her stepkids as they “loved and missed him.” Well, he gave her a taste of her own medicine and refused to oblige, just the way that she had neglected him all those years. He acted the same way every time she called him, until she said she didn’t feel like meeting him, and OP pointed out that the feeling was mutual.
Image credits: prostock-studio / Magnific (not the actual photo)
After he vented online, netizens instantly sided with him, saying he was just giving his mom what she deserved. Studies show that childhood emotional neglect can damage a child’s self-esteem and mental health. It teaches them their feelings aren’t important. The consequences of this neglect can last a lifetime. The poor poster definitely suffered because of his mom.
Moreover, watching his own mother favor his stepsiblings must have been disturbing. Experts emphasize that this discriminatory treatment by a parent is associated with a host of negative outcomes. They elaborate that Americans who grew up in families with favorites are more than twice as likely to report feeling lonely at least once a week while growing up.
Research has also revealed that parental favoritism leads to sibling rivalry as the neglected child starts to resent the favored child. That’s exactly what happened here, didn’t it? The poster was well aware that it wasn't his stepsiblings’ fault that his mom was behaving this way. Yet he started to resent them because they were getting all her attention while he was ignored.
Netizens applauded him for standing up to her, and they didn’t shy away from calling the woman super toxic for traumatizing her own son. Some even said that she would never change and advised the poster to cut ties with the cruel mom for good. Do you agree with them? We would love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to drop them in the comments section!
Netizens didn't shy away from cursing the poster's toxic mom, and many suggested cutting ties with her for good
