It is not news that sibling relationships can be complicated. As a popular saying goes, "I will give them my kidney, but not my charger." That means that while usually, most siblings love each other, they still fight due to seemingly superficial reasons.
At the same time, even with simple reasons, some siblings tend to go too far. And that's today's story - a sister going too far picking on her brother and causing family drama because of it.
More info: Reddit
Should you intervene when you see your brother being horribly mistreated by your sister?
Image credits: Trinity Kubassek (not the actual photo)
This woman witnessed her brother being mistreated by her sister and tried to intervene
He decided to retaliate by touching a nerve with a comment about her friends, which only made the situation worse
Image credits: Budgeron Bach (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Antoni Shkraba (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/kitisakat
Their mother says the woman shouldn't have intervened, as it wasn't her business to deal with and she doesn't know the whole story
It could be said that in today’s story, the OP isn’t the main character, rather a witness to her siblings’ fight. She only got involved after she tried to take her brother’s side.
So, you might wonder, what was that fight about? Well, technically, it was about nothing. To be more specific, it was the sister Ella constantly picking on her brother Finn for no reason, just because she can. And she picks on him for nearly everything he does or says - his long hair, intelligence, hobbies and even friends.
The situation described in the author’s post started in a coffee shop, where all the siblings went during the oldest one’s (the OP’s) visit. Finn accidentally bumped the table and the younger sister Ella exploded, screaming at him. The OP tried defusing the situation by telling her to stop and that she was taking it all too far. That turned into Ella giving both of her siblings the silent treatment.
Later, Finn, trying to be friendly, asked Ella about her plans, which made her answer with a sarcastic remark. That quickly turned into a screaming contest between all the siblings. During all the yelling, Finn made a remark about Ella’s friends, which made her even more upset.
The reason for such a reaction was that Ella had gone through some trouble with her friends and she ranted about it to her siblings. And that information, knowingly or unknowingly, was used by Finn to hurt her. The OP once again tried to defuse the situation by saying that she “shouldn’t dish it if she can’t take it.”
The phrase made Ella storm off. Later, the siblings’ mom said the OP shouldn’t have intervened at all, because she doesn’t know the whole situation, as she doesn’t live with them all the time. She also ordered her oldest daughter to stay out of the family's business and just make up for Christmas. That prompted her to come to Reddit to ask if she was wrong for saying what she said.
Image credits: Zhivko Minkov (not the actual photo)
Well, folks online decided that the author isn’t wrong for her words. In fact, some even noted that the jerks in the situation are her parents, specifically her mom, who told her to stay out of it. According to netizens’ wisdom, their parents are neglecting Finn by letting Ella pick on him so much. It could be said that by acting this way, the parents are enabling sibling rivalry.
Sibling rivalry is, as it could be understood from its name, animosity between siblings. Usually, this animosity stems from children getting unequal amounts of their parents' attention and discipline. Also, it often comes from parents not explaining to children that fighting isn’t the proper way to resolve conflict and not teaching them any non-physical ways do to so. Parents can reduce the possibility of sibling rivalry by creating fun activities for everyone together, making sure that each child has enough attention, and not comparing them, to name a few.
Interestingly, sibling rivalry doesn't only appear in humans. In fact, in some animal species, this rivalry (usually for food and parental attention) goes to the extent of one sibling killing another. For example, when egret chicks first hatch, their parents bring back enough food to nurture the whole group of chicks. Sadly, later, when they get bigger, the amount of food becomes too small, which prompts sibling rivalry. On the other hand, siblings in the animal world aren't always as competitive and possibly lethal. For instance, wolves, when they become older siblings, tend to help to feed and guard the younger ones.
So, relating this information to the Reddit story, we think that the parents should think before indulging their daughter’s antagonism toward her brother. It doesn’t seem like a fun activity for anyone except her. It’s good that people do not have a tendency to take sibling rivalry to the lethal level - otherwise, the story's ending would be way sadder than the family planning to make up during Christmas.
Internet folks declared that the oldest sister isn't the one to blame for intervening, but the mother, who told her to stay out of it, should be
