As a kid, I never really understood the fascination about dolls until I was introduced to Pokemon. Of course, they are more like figurines than dolls, but boy was I in love with them and gave up my blood, sweat, and tears collecting all of them!
Speaking of dolls, the parents of this 5-year-old have given her a cheap one while their golden child has a nice one. The original poster (OP) couldn’t watch this unfairness toward her niece and custom-made a beautiful doll for the younger kid, but this sparked unnecessary drama within the family!
More info: Reddit
There are a few shameful parents out there who unceremoniously favor one child over the other
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster's brother and sister-in-law always favor their 7-year-old "golden child" over their 5-year-old
Image credits: Lilian_Lotus
Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The poster is sick of this blatant favoritism, which is also visible in the troll doll the younger niece (YN) has and a nicer one that the older niece (ON) has
Image credits: Lilian_Lotus
Image credits: ValeriaNotJoking / Reddit (not the actual photo)
So, the aunt designed a pretty doll for YN that resembles her auburn hair, and the little one was ecstatic on her birthday
Image credits: Lilian_Lotus
The couple demanded she make another one for ON, and wouldn't take no for an answer, so she snapped at them
In today’s story, we dive into the world of Reddit user Lilian_Lotus, who deserves the Best Aunt in the World award if there ever was one. She has two nieces: a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old, and it’s pretty blatant that her brother and sister-in-law favor her older niece (ON) as she’s their “golden” child (literally, because she has blonde hair). Meanwhile, her younger niece (YN) is not only ignored but also given cheap toys.
YN is made to feel so sad about her auburn curls that the poor child tried to cut them off, while her mother brushed it off as a “childhood mishap”! OP also noticed that ON has a nice Barbie with blonde hair, while YN has a cheaper version with red hair and the mom’s explanation for this was that they couldn’t find a good one with her hair color. Literally, rolling my eyes at these parents!
Anyway, the poster took it into her own hands to make YN feel special on her birthday by learning how to actually customize a doll and give her similar hair like YN. She even sewed some outfits with a blue whale theme, which the kid likes, and she was beside herself with joy when she got it on her birthday.
ON didn’t take this quietly and she also demanded a custom doll as YN won’t share hers, so the parents called up OP and told her so. Well, our lady said that she will make it for her next birthday, but the golden child wanted it right away. The poster snapped at the couple that they never cared what YN thought, but always rushed to fulfill all of ON’s demands, and she refused to oblige just because ON was upset.
Image credits: Antoni Shkraba / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Research suggests that from an early age, children are aware of differential treatment, such as parents showing more warmth to one sibling than another. Such perceived parental favoritism has been associated with low self-esteem in children, as well as childhood anxiety, depression, and behavioral problems, including risky behavior.
It has also been observed that many of these consequences persist long after children have grown up and moved out of the house. People don't soon forget that they were disfavored by their parents, and many people report that being disfavored as a child continues to affect their self-esteem and their relationships in adulthood.
The parents in this story are clearly ruining things for both their children as research indicates that things are also not so pleasant later on for the favored child. They are also harboring a sense of entitlement in their older daughter by giving in to all her whims and fancies, and even making demands from the poster and pushing her after she refuses.
Folks online were quick to bash the parents for their blatant favoritism, and literally ignoring a 5-year-old so much that she was driven into chopping off her own hair. How sad is that? Many netizens applauded the poster for being such a wonderful aunt and going out of her way to make YN feel so special and loved. Bet she must have felt wonderful for once to be the focus of OP’s attention.
Don’t you think so? Also, if you were in the poster’s place, what would you have done? Feel free to type away in the comments below!
Folks online applauded the heartfelt gesture from the poster and didn't hesitate to call out the awful parents
