Parents form different relationships with each of their children, but in most cases, their love for every single one remains the same. Unfortunately, in certain families, the adults might be more favorable toward one kid, which can affect the other children in the home.
This is what a teen experienced all her life because her parents always put their “miracle” kid first. She even got bullied by her sibling, and finally decided to leave home and cut contact due to it, which led to a lot of family drama.
More info: Reddit
When one kid is treated as the golden child, their siblings might feel overlooked and unloved as a result
Image credits: prostooleh / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The poster shared that since her elder sister was a preemie, their parents always babied her and bought her anything she wanted, which led to her being spoiled
Image credits: senivpetro / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The older sister also kept bragging about her special treatment and bullied the poster, but despite all that, their parents only punished the poster for retaliating
Image credits: katemangostar / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Due to her parents’ favoritism, the poster finally moved out before her 18th birthday to live with her grandpa, who accepted her with open arms
Image credits: ThrowRAStunsBerszy
The grandpa criticized the poster’s parents for their favoritism and tried to get his granddaughter to go to therapy
Even though there was just a two-year age gap between the woman and her elder sister, she grew up in her sibling’s shadow because their parents viewed their first offspring as a “miracle child.” Since she was a preemie, they always babied her and let her get away with anything that she wanted to do, but didn’t do the same for their younger daughter.
According to research, many parents tend to get traumatized when their child is born prematurely, which is why they might overcompensate for this by coddling the kid as they grow up. Unfortunately, this behavior can end up stunting the little one’s social and mental well-being and keep them sheltered for far too long.
In this case, the older sister started thinking she was extra special just because her parents babied her all the time. The problem is that this left the poster all alone to fend for herself, and she soon realized that her mom and dad had no problem doling out punishments to her or forcing her to do things she didn’t want to do.
When parents favor one child over the other, experts explain that this can lead to sibling rivalry and feelings of insecurity in the child who is often overlooked. Even though this kind of behavior occurs in some form in nearly 65% of families, it’s important for adults to recognize it and treat their kids equally.
Image credits: freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Since the older sibling was always treated better, she began bragging to her younger sister and even bullied her for it. The problem is that their parents always turned a blind eye to their eldest kid’s bad behavior and instead penalized their younger child for retaliating or trying to protect herself from the bullying.
When one sibling torments the other, professionals explain that this can negatively affect the victim’s mental health and cause them to feel anxiety, depression, and self-doubt. It might also erode their trust in their loved ones and make it harder for them to form close relationships with new people.
Clearly, the poster had been deeply affected by her parents’ favoritism and her sister’s bullying, so she chose to leave home just before she turned 18. Luckily, her grandfather welcomed her with open arms, and also had her back by criticizing her mother and father for their one-sided behavior.
Despite all this, the poster’s parents didn’t seem to realize their mistakes and instead tried to put the blame back on their daughter. This obviously caused the 18-year-old a lot of heartbreak, and she felt bad that she couldn’t cut her family off completely or stop wanting their love and approval.
What advice do you have for the poster to deal with this complicated situation? Do share your opinions on this story, and whether you’ve ever noticed parental favoritism in real life.
Folks were shocked by the behavior of the parents and urged the young woman to get therapy and to cut contact with her unhinged family
