Redditor Gets Tackled By Son For Giving A "Better" Gift To His Sister Than To Him

"It's still hurtful because it feels like we are more proud of her than him"

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• January 13, 2023

Even though some families joke about having a favorite child, most parents will openly admit that they don't prefer one child above the others. But in actuality, a lot of parents do have a favorite kid.

It makes psychological sense to form a closer bond with one of your children, especially with the one who is most like you. However, just because something is common doesn't mean that displaying it is acceptable.

Just because you prefer one child over another does not automatically make you a terrible parent or lessen your affection for the other child. In today's story, we see a Redditor who is married with two kids.

The OP's elder daughter bought a house, and they knew that moving into a new home always comes with unexpected costs right after you've probably depleted most of your funds. So, for Christmas, the OP and his wife gave her $4000 and gave their son a few different gifts totaling somewhere around $800.

This upset their son, who still lives with them, and he chose to open up immediately after his sister left. He told them his feelings were hurt by the disparity in the value of the gifts, but the OP and his wife wanted to justify their actions.

Still, their son wasn't having it, so keep scrolling and read the entire story for yourself below. 

The Title

We know that moving into a new home always comes with unexpected costs

It still hurt to get a worse present and feel like an afterthought

The OP can't really decide if they are in the wrong here

In just 6 days of being posted, the Reddit thread received 6K comments with more than 18k upvotes

One child is sometimes more expensive than the other

We'd need to give him more than that

It's okay for there to be a little disparity

The commenter honestly sees both sides here

You guys didn't handle it correctly

This is usually not about the gift

Son made it about his feelings, not the money

He needs to stop keeping score and be more grateful

He is living rent-free at his parent's house

He just has to wait

He's certainly entitled to feeling frustrated

He needs to act like an adult

Talk to him about it

This kid gets sandwiches everyday

This Redditor believes the judgment is very light

You should be able to reassure him

This just looks like favoritism

Reaching milestones at different times in your lives

He seems greedy to want more

Favoritism can harm children in the long run. If you have a favorite child, don't be too hard on yourself.

However, resist showing partiality and let your children know they have all of your unconditional love and support. Even if you do have a favorite child, you may still have good connections with everyone and be fair to them all.

Maryjane