I don’t know if I am expecting too much from my brother but he rarely visits our parents. I think pre covid it was about once every six months and since covid he has visited once in 2.5 years with the last visit being over 1.5 years ago. He lives with his wife and child about a 2 hour drive away so not close but not on the other side of the world.
My brother (36) has had a boy (who is 10 months old). He hasn’t brought his son to visit our parents instead they go to visit him despite it being difficult for my mum because she has mobility issues.
our mother dotes on him and phones him every few days but he will never phone himself unless he is replying to a missed call. What is surprising is that I wouldn’t say their relationship is strained but it seems they are the ones making a lot of the effort although he does send them pictures of the baby.
my parents are in their late 60s and my mother hasn’t been too well but despite this he hasn’t bothered to visit. They have helped him out a lot recently with a large deposit for his house and money for his wedding.
my brother and i aren’t particularly close, I have two young kids but he has never phoned to wish them a happy birthday, just a WhatsApp message a few days after their birthday when our mum has reminded him.
I thought the birth of his son would be a chance for us to reconnect. I sent him a few WhatsApp messages asking to visit several months ago and we visited. I sent a few follow up messages sort of hinting we’d like to visit soon but he hasn’t invited us agin which is his choice.
generally I think he is indifferent towards them but I don’t know if this is normal.