People Share True Stories About Sibling Double Standards

From Redditor /u/darksaphira:

I have four younger siblings. The middle child is the favorite, and the youngest gets the most leeway (my mom was the youngest of five). We all caused trouble for my parents at some point. Before I went to college, I felt life was unfair. I faced harsh punishments for dumb things. For instance, coming home fifteen minutes late meant losing the car for three months.

As the oldest, I was the example or experiment child. Now, I see my siblings do the same things, or worse, and receive second, third, or fourth chances.

From Redditor /u/forgotusernameoften:

I get the same privileges as my little brother at the same time, even though he is younger.

From Redditor /u/sexistparents:

I grew up in a Catholic home with strict rules for dating. I could not have a boyfriend until age 18. If a boy was in the house, we could not be alone together, and they could never be in my room. I followed every rule and never broke one.

My brother faced none of these rules. He had girls as a teenager. He brought them home and kept them in his room with the door shut, without my parents hearing anything.

I moved out at 22. I now live with my boyfriend across the country. We do not visit often. I am 25 now, and I have been with my partner for five years. My parents have not given me financial support in years; my partner and I are financially independent. When we visit, my parents made my partner stay in a makeshift basement room. It was cold, drafty, and noisy, but my partner respected the house rules for weeks. Even though we lived together for years, my parents made him sleep in the basement out of respect.

I am visiting now. I found out my brother's (22) girlfriend can stay over in his room whenever she wants. They have been together for a year. He still lives at home and depends on my parents financially.

From Redditor /u/SpatialBreak:

I have a couple of brothers and sisters, but I only live with one brother. When I did something wrong, I was locked in my room because "I was the oldest and needed to set an example." My brother got away with many of the things I did.

If I yelled at him, a 7-year-old me pinching him, I got in trouble and went to my room for three days. If I pinched him after my grounding ended and he yelled at me, I got in trouble for pinching him and got grounded again.

From Redditor /u/getMeToTheDoctor1977:

As I grew up, my parents always told me to leave my little sister alone when she bothered me.

Always pissed me off.

From Redditor /u/throwaway4227:

My sister got everything handed to her. My parents learned after that and became very strict with me. I don't resent my sister for it, but my parents still act that way.

Example: My sister bought a $500 bike and did not lock it up. Someone stole it. She called them, claiming she lacked money for a Europe vacation because she had to replace the bike. They paid for her plane ticket.

I asked for $100 of my own money—money they kept since before I turned 18 to help with college loans—to pay my electric bill during a serious illness where I missed much work. They told me I could not pay because I was irresponsible with money and did not deserve my own funds.

From Redditor /u/theedgeofcool:

My brothers had more freedom to leave the house. They got driver's licenses at 16. They could bike anywhere, even if they caused trouble like smashing mailboxes or pranks. That was okay.

They received support for their hobbies, buying equipment and tools.

As a girl, I could not bike anywhere. I could not get a license until college. I had to beg my parents to take me to the library for my one hobby: reading. We lived outside town, so there was no place to go without a car.

From Redditor /u/cadomski:

An unspoken rule held that I, the older one, was responsible for everything that happened to either my brother or me. I recall one time, cornered in the kitchen, my mom and dad yelled at me about why the house was not cleaned before they arrived.

They kept pointing at me, shouting that "you guys" needed to clean up after school. My brother just sat on the other side of the room, relaxed, fiddling with his hands.

From Redditor /u/anothermusiclover:

I am the older sibling. I earned good grades (top 10%), but my sister always needed to pass me.

She has gotten straight As since middle school (now a sophomore in college), but my parents do not appreciate it.

From a former Redditor:

I am the oldest of three boys. The next youngest brother is one year younger than me. The next one is ten years younger than him. As the oldest and an unplanned child (my dad was 18 and my mom was 16 when I was born), I felt like an inconvenience. But my younger brother always got the breaks. Then, ten years later, my youngest brother was spoiled rotten.

I do not hold grudges. That is just part of life; it is not worth worrying about, especially now that you are grown up.

From Redditor /u/PrinceAuryn:

I have a younger sibling, two years younger. He is the laziest person on Earth, and my parents let him be that way.

At his age, I had driven for several years, held a job for about a year, and had a girlfriend.

My parents give him about $50 weekly for chores. They drive him almost everywhere. If he needs a ride, he tries to borrow from me or takes the bus.

My parents sheltered him from real life for too long. He does not see how real life functions.

FormerRedditor:

When boyfriends visited, I had to leave the door open. They had to leave at a set time.

When my younger brother started dating, he could keep the door closed. He had no real curfew.

From Redditor /u/jurassicbond:

My younger sister got paid for good grades. I did not need the motivation since I always got good grades.

My sister has mental problems and needed extra encouragement. I did not understand this when I was a kid. It felt unfair.

From Redditor /u/auntiepink:

Bedtime is the first thing that comes to mind. It was 8:30 for me until my early teens because I shared a room with my little sister, and she did not like being woken up.

I got the light on until 9, but I still had to be in bed at 8:30. Then, they moved my bedtime to 10 (around age 15; my sister was 8), but they never made my sister sleep until then.

From Redditor /u/19southmainco:

Me: If you do not return from prom by 10, you are grounded.

Younger Brother: Don't come back home too sh*tfaced.

From Redditor /u/Autumn0909:

My oldest sister and I worked jobs while in college and got jobs after graduating. The second-oldest sister dropped out after sixth grade and never got a GED or a job. The third-to-oldest sister dropped out at the same time but returned to college for her GED and is working on her degree.

My oldest sister and I faced mistreatment because we did not "do enough for the family" (we were never home to help, so I guess that makes us bad people for working/improving ourselves). The two middle siblings were treated much better, as if they could do no wrong, until the middle sister went to college and then she started getting treated worse.

The sister who never got an education gets coddled and always wins because "she does things for the family." She helps around the house, and she cannot do anything else anyway.

From Redditor /u/TheClayrooAtWork:

I am the older of two boys, separated by about three years.

When I was 17, my buddy brought a 26-ounce bottle of vodka. We did not get into it, so I hid it. My mom found it, gave me a beating, and dumped an unopened bottle down the drain.

My mom then bought my brother alcohol when he was 16 because "he's gonna get it anyways."