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My son is treated like an outsider by his own siblings and it's breaking my heart

762 replies

Marielouisee · 23/07/2026 12:41

I honestly don't even know why I'm writing this. Maybe because I've kept it inside for so many years and I just need to let it out somewhere. I'm a mother of four kids. My oldest son is 20, my second son is 19, my daughter is 17 and my youngest son is 15. I love all four of them equally. There has never been a favorite. They all grew up in the same home with the same parents. My husband and I have always tried to give them love, support and everything we could. We weren't perfect parents but we genuinely tried our best. That's why this hurts so much because no matter what we've done over the years, nothing has changed.

My second son has had some health problems since he was little. He has never been seriously disabled or anything like that. He can take care of himself, he goes out on his own, he has hobbies, he has friends and he doesn't need someone looking after him all the time. He's just different from the other three. He's not as sharp, fast or energetic as they are and he has always had a weaker immune system. He would get sick more often and sometimes he needed more attention from us than the others did. As parents we couldn't just ignore that. If one of your children needs you more at certain times you naturally give them that extra care. We never loved him more than the others. We simply responded to what each child needed.

Because of his health there were times we had to cancel family vacations or trips at the last minute. We never felt right leaving one child behind while taking the other three. Looking back now I know those moments affected the others more than we realized. They missed out on some things because of it. But it wasn't like their childhood was full of disappointment. They still had birthday parties, holidays, sleepovers, school trips, sports, time with friends and special moments with us. We always tried to make sure every child had attention and opportunities. It just wasn't always possible to make everything perfect.

As they got older though, especially around sixteen or seventeen, something changed. The frustration they had toward us slowly became resentment toward their brother. Instead of blaming the situation they started blaming him. It was like in their minds he became the reason they had missed out on certain memories as kids. From that point things just kept getting worse. They stopped inviting him to things. If they planned to go somewhere together they left him out. If they were hanging out at home they acted like he wasn't there. They have a lot of the same friends because they're close in age but they rarely include him. Even their friends have started treating him like he's invisible because they follow the example my other kids set.

The hardest part for me isn't even the exclusion. It's hearing the words they say to him. More than once I've overheard them telling him they wish he had never been part of the family or that they don't want him around. Every time I hear something like that it feels like someone is ripping my heart apart. I look at my son and he never screams back or starts a fight. He just goes quiet. He smiles less than he used to. Sometimes he'll simply walk back to his room like he's already expecting it. Watching your own child slowly believe he doesn't belong in his own family is something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Last week was another example that completely broke me. The other three bought tickets to a music concert together. My second son was excited because he likes the artist too. He asked if he could come with them. They had already bought tickets for themselves and never even considered buying one for him. They told him no and left without him. He didn't throw a tantrum or beg. He just said okay and went back to his room. I don't even think he expects to be included anymore. That acceptance hurts more than if he had cried.

The thing that makes this even harder is that he's genuinely such a sweet kid. He's gentle, kind and thoughtful. He has never been the child causing problems or getting into trouble. He's incredibly talented in his own way. He paints beautifully. Honestly some of his artwork amazes me. He has found a small group of friends through art classes and local galleries. He goes to exhibitions, talks to other artists and that's where I actually see him smile. Those people appreciate him for who he is. Sometimes I wonder if complete strangers understand my son better than his own siblings do.

My husband and I have spent years trying to fix this. We've had countless conversations with all of them. We've explained how hurtful their behavior is. We've asked them to imagine how they would feel if the roles were reversed. We've tried family time, one-on-one talks, setting rules and encouraging them to spend time together. We've cried in front of them.

I'm just so tired. I feel like I've failed all of my children somehow. I feel guilty toward my second son because he deserves siblings who love him and accept him. I also feel guilty toward my other three because maybe somewhere along the way they carried resentment that we didn't recognize soon enough. I keep replaying every parenting decision in my head wondering where we went wrong. Maybe we made mistakes. I'm sure we did. Every parent does. But I never imagined it would end with one of my children feeling like an outsider in the only family he's ever known.

I don't even know what I'm hoping to get from posting this. Maybe someone has been through something similar. Maybe someone has advice. Or maybe I just needed to tell someone because I've carried this pain for years and it feels unbearably lonely. I honestly pray no child ever has to wonder why their own brothers and sister don't want them around and I pray no mother ever has to stand there watching it happen while feeling completely powerless to stop it.

OP posts:
the7Vabo · 23/07/2026 19:13

Baielysfromashoe · 23/07/2026 19:05

There’s a name for this and it’s called ‘glass children’ when the needs of the healthy children are completely overlooked to the point that only the child with health issues is catered for. You should have done 1-1 parenting

I was a glass child for multiple reasons to do with my sibling who was unwell for a period (not disabled). I do think my parents recognised it to some extent. And we have a good relationship. I don’t have a good relationship with my sibling who I feel grew used to be the centre of everything. My sibling has also never once not once said that she recognises that for many years there wasn’t room for me in our family. It’s always about what I didn’t do for her.

onlygeese · 23/07/2026 19:16

This reply has been deleted

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Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:16

'I agree many people grow up with illness in the family. But most families don’t cancel everything at the drop of a hat because of it.'

Doesn't sound like too much hardship tbh:

'We never felt right leaving one child behind while taking the other three. Looking back now I know those moments affected the others more than we realized. They missed out on some things because of it. But it wasn't like their childhood was full of disappointment. They still had birthday parties, holidays, sleepovers, school trips, sports, time with friends and special moments with us. We always tried to make sure every child had attention and opportunities. It just wasn't always possible to make everything perfect'

Things get rearranged. Rightly so when one dc has health problems.

PatchworkCow · 23/07/2026 19:19

OP, I'm sure you've come across people in the world of the type in about to describe. We all have.

I'm talking about nice, harmless, friendly but socially inept people. People who don't pick up on hints, subtle body language or facial expressions properly and so behave inappropriately by accident. They often seem to have few friends and always be looking for more.

If you're a nice person yourself, friendly, kind, then you tend to do things like make eye contact, smile, make small talk when they approach you. That's often all it seems to take for this type of person to decide that you're now their best friend. They start making a beeline for you every time they see you. They'll want to chat at length, completely thoughtless as to what you may be needing to do, such as get on with your work, go home, get somewhere on time or just get inside out of the rain. Oblivious to anything other than their own needs/wants, though they don't mean to be unkind and aren't necessarily being obviously rude at all in their conversation.

Hints don't work, the usual "oh I must get on now" excuses don't work, looking irritated doesn't work, giving minimal responses to discourage further conversation doesn't work, brushing them off and being less friendly doesn't work... The only way to deal with such people IME is to eventually bluntly tell them you don't have time to chat, every time. And to start avoiding them so you don't have to put up with them trying to latch onto you all the time.

This ⬆️ is what you're turning your disabled son into, OP. He's looking to you for guidance and you're royally fucking it up. You're doing all your DC a disservice by it. And I think you're now seeing the results of your behaviour, when you witness them telling him they don't want him around and blanking him as if he's not there. My guess is they're having to do it to avoid him trying to latch onto them, because you have been encouraging him to do exactly that.

If a group of people arranged to go somewhere and doesn't invite you, it's not socially acceptable to ask to tag along. If they wanted you along they'd have invited you. The thing to do is to say "sounds great, I'd love to do something like that one day, have fun" and wave them off on their night out, then arrange to do something similar with your own friends if you want. That way they know you'd be up for it in future, in case they just didn't realise and so they might choose to invite you next time if it was just an oversight. Or they might not, if it was some other reason for not inviting you. It's up to them. Most people will run a mile from neediness and desperation. Asking to tag along with people's plans is exactly that. Please stop bringing up your disadvantaged disabled son to be a social pariah OP.

As for inclusiveness, to be honest this is the way of the world. People largely aren't inclusive. They want to do whatever they want to do and if you can't keep up or cope, you simply won't be invited to partake. The siblings aren't behaving especially nastily, they're behaving the way most ordinary human beings tend to behave.

They want to go to a concert, maybe drink alcohol, let their hair down, have fun... without keeping it in the back of their mind that there's someone vulnerable attached to their group who needs looking out for (and maybe physically waiting for whilst he catches up).

If he got tired or overwhelmed part way through the night, would he be able to realise it, then arrange transport and take himself home, all without their input or help? If not, then you're expecting the siblings to fulfill a carer role. And they don't want to.

It's not remotely practical to take someone along to a concert when you already have tickets and they don't. What if they'd all waited in the (probably much longer) queue for him to purchase a ticket instead of going straight in and then it turned out it was sold out, or the only tickets available were in a different location to theirs within the venue, or were way over his budget? Would they all have been expected to go home again with him and miss out?

Concerts are expensive, they have probably saved and looked forward to this trip for some time now and they want to fully enjoy it, unencumbered by responsibility for anyone other than themselves. There's nothing wrong in that.

You have massively underestimated the impact of your parenting decisions surrounding DS's disability, upon your other DC. It doesn't matter what other experiences they had, the sheer disappointment of having plans cancelled for any reason is so so frustrating for a child and a very big deal to them at the time. Compounding that with expecting them to suck it up and not be disappointed, or express their upset at the circumstances, will have made things so much worse (and I have no doubt that your parenting style included doing exactly that).

It sounds to me like what changed was they were actually very patient and kind all their childhood and did suck it up without complaining whilst their brother was a child, but that once he turned 16 and started developing his own friends and social life they saw no reason for him to be babied any more and made center of attention within the family still. They're pushing back against your unfair and unreasonable attempts to continue doing that.

Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:21

Baielysfromashoe · 23/07/2026 19:05

There’s a name for this and it’s called ‘glass children’ when the needs of the healthy children are completely overlooked to the point that only the child with health issues is catered for. You should have done 1-1 parenting

The healthy kids weren't completely overlooked? Things got cancelled than rearranged, so what? Do you think the sick dc should have been put in care or something, left home alone while the rest of the family popped off on holiday maybe. What should the op have done??

springintospring26 · 23/07/2026 19:21

This is heartbreaking OP. I’ve been there with an unwell child with a healthy sibling but they hated each other and were different sexes so probably would never have been great buddies. Your other three children sound horrible, sorry

BreadInCaptivity · 23/07/2026 19:23

Backpain2026 · 23/07/2026 18:50

So how many times did you cancel a holiday because he had a cold?

Them not including him is probably a safety mechanism because they remember things be cancelled when he was ill. So if he gets ill before the concert then you won't let any of them go.

The fact that they actually do so much together, rather than friends, suggests that they have felt the need to emotionally rely on each other a lot.

They need to be polite and civil but they don't need to be friends

This was my thought also and why I asked the OP to post what the response was from the siblings when the matter has been discussed.

Given how much the OP centres both her own feelings and that of her 19 year old I do wonder if the other siblings have found their coping mechanism to events by supporting each other.

Tableforjoan · 23/07/2026 19:23

Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:21

The healthy kids weren't completely overlooked? Things got cancelled than rearranged, so what? Do you think the sick dc should have been put in care or something, left home alone while the rest of the family popped off on holiday maybe. What should the op have done??

One parent stays back and the other spends time with the others.

Not the whole world stops every time the miracle gets a cold.

This wasn’t a child on deaths bed this was a child who takes longer to recover from a. Cold because it hit harder. The world doesn’t stop.

QuadrupleH · 23/07/2026 19:24

"I love all four of them equally..."

Nope.

ByCyanMoose · 23/07/2026 19:25

Tinks2026 · 23/07/2026 13:25

I'm just going to leave this here and bow out.

This is literally text book stuff. I mean there are actual books written on what happens when parents choose to parentify siblings at the expense of the other child's freedom and right not to be pushed into a caregiving or supportive role.

I guarantee this thread is going to go like this - OP will keep arguing, refuse to see it, talk about how cruel I am and anyone else who agrees with me, say we don't get it and basically do everything and anything to avoid the reality of my post.

And a bunch of muppets who cluelessly have no idea about these situations will chime in and keep calling the other siblings names and talking about what meanies they are, completely ignoring the reality that they have been absolutely forced into supportive caregiving roles they never wanted at all. These sorts generally resort to name calling too.

None of that matters.

OP, you no longer have the power to enforce the support/caregiving role on your other children and they have roundly rejected it, as is their absolute right.

You should go to counselling and try to figure out if there is any way you can have a functional relationship with your other children going forward, because they will most likely flee as soon as they can, rarely if ever to be seen again if you keep attempting to coerce them (including trying to punish them financially ffs) into roles they never agreed to and do not want.

It's most unkind to your son to have made his siblings so resentful towards him. Only you can fix this - but you absolutely cannot do that by continuing to nag, demand or cajole. They have rejected your dynamic. Your wish that they be your son's support network and carers won't be happening anymore. You need to make peace with that and find a way to move on.

Edited

Bowing out might be the one sensible thing you’ve done since you entered this discussion. It’s unfortunate that threads about bullying seek to attract so many bullies.

Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:25

'This ⬆️ is what you're turning your disabled son'

He isn't disabled. The pp said 'He's never been disabled or unable to live a normal life. He's independent, he studies, he goes out with his friends, and he has his own interests'

ALovelyPinkUnicorn · 23/07/2026 19:26

Baielysfromashoe · 23/07/2026 19:05

There’s a name for this and it’s called ‘glass children’ when the needs of the healthy children are completely overlooked to the point that only the child with health issues is catered for. You should have done 1-1 parenting

It’s been said many times, but op and the posters encouraging her to kick out and cut out her teens are ignoring this, while wanging on about how evil they are seem to think that no one matters but the 19 yo.

AngelWithAHauntedHeart · 23/07/2026 19:27

Marielouisee · 23/07/2026 13:19

I've thought about that many times. Who are these friends, and why are they even welcome in my home if they're comfortable mistreating one of my children?

As for my other kids, I'm seriously considering cutting off financial support. If they're old enough to deliberately exclude and disrespect their own brother while living under my roof, then they're old enough to start earning for themselves too.

Maybe that isn't fair. But neither is the way they've treated their brother for years. Perhaps then they'll understand that actions have consequences.

You do realise all this will do is make them resent you? You cannot force a relationship with them.

the7Vabo · 23/07/2026 19:30

Tableforjoan · 23/07/2026 19:23

One parent stays back and the other spends time with the others.

Not the whole world stops every time the miracle gets a cold.

This wasn’t a child on deaths bed this was a child who takes longer to recover from a. Cold because it hit harder. The world doesn’t stop.

This wasn’t a child having chemo. Fair enough I assume he wasn’t well enough to travel but he well enough to be left with a grandparent etc

So what if he almost died from his siblings POV. Many babies are born not breathing etc. For some, they suffer serious consequences, and many are fine as is the case here. You move on. He was a child who was more prone to illness. That’s it. And everyone his near death was mentioned the other kids could well have heard that as the “special one”.

Aluna · 23/07/2026 19:31

Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:21

The healthy kids weren't completely overlooked? Things got cancelled than rearranged, so what? Do you think the sick dc should have been put in care or something, left home alone while the rest of the family popped off on holiday maybe. What should the op have done??

What everyone else does: one parent stays with the sick child and the other takes the other kids.

Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:32

Tableforjoan · 23/07/2026 19:23

One parent stays back and the other spends time with the others.

Not the whole world stops every time the miracle gets a cold.

This wasn’t a child on deaths bed this was a child who takes longer to recover from a. Cold because it hit harder. The world doesn’t stop.

Well, I think families should stay together, rearrange holidays.

The other kids have had a very comfortable upbringing. I'd guess the op and dh have probably over compensated materialistically for the inconvenience of having a sick db hence they have 3 spoilt, entitled kids. How to deal that will take some work.

Tableforjoan · 23/07/2026 19:33

Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:32

Well, I think families should stay together, rearrange holidays.

The other kids have had a very comfortable upbringing. I'd guess the op and dh have probably over compensated materialistically for the inconvenience of having a sick db hence they have 3 spoilt, entitled kids. How to deal that will take some work.

I’d normally agree but this sounds like it happened often. Days out and holidays.

At some point the none sick children deserve a normal childhood not tied to their sicker but safe sibling.

Sounds like ds2 was raised as a god type child due to his miracle and the others haven’t ever heard the end of it.

Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:34

'Fair enough I assume he wasn’t well enough to travel but he well enough to be left with a grandparent etc'

Oh great idea! Pack off the poorly dc with granny lest a week in the sun be put off for a week or 2.

2Rebecca · 23/07/2026 19:35

So this 19 year old MAN had a stuffy nose when younger that was treated but is STILL treated as a “ delicate wee boy” by his mother. He sounds as though he needs to leave his parents’ home and be more independent and get away from all of them. Most 19 year olds don’t need to have their younger sibs fussing over them. Crack down on nastiness in YOUR house but encourage your second son to be more independent of all of you

Instructions · 23/07/2026 19:35

Ah op, this would break my heart too.

Is family therapy an option you could explore?

WearyAuldWumman · 23/07/2026 19:35

Gloriia · 23/07/2026 19:25

'This ⬆️ is what you're turning your disabled son'

He isn't disabled. The pp said 'He's never been disabled or unable to live a normal life. He's independent, he studies, he goes out with his friends, and he has his own interests'

She actually said: "He has never been seriously disabled..." which suggests to me that there is some kind of disability.

Tableforjoan · 23/07/2026 19:36

WearyAuldWumman · 23/07/2026 19:35

She actually said: "He has never been seriously disabled..." which suggests to me that there is some kind of disability.

He had a weak immune system and a dodgy nose that was fixed by surgery op says.

the7Vabo · 23/07/2026 19:37

Tableforjoan · 23/07/2026 19:33

I’d normally agree but this sounds like it happened often. Days out and holidays.

At some point the none sick children deserve a normal childhood not tied to their sicker but safe sibling.

Sounds like ds2 was raised as a god type child due to his miracle and the others haven’t ever heard the end of it.

You don’t more than once tell a child they are going on holdiays, then take it away & expect them to understand. That wouldn’t be a fair thing to do even if the sibling was severely disabled.

But I suspect the holidays are one part of a bigger picture.

Tableforjoan · 23/07/2026 19:39

the7Vabo · 23/07/2026 19:37

You don’t more than once tell a child they are going on holdiays, then take it away & expect them to understand. That wouldn’t be a fair thing to do even if the sibling was severely disabled.

But I suspect the holidays are one part of a bigger picture.

Exactly. A one off oh shit child broke their legs sorry kids we are skipping this one. Is a no brainer.

A regular sorry brother has a cold again. Sorry brother has the sniffles. Sorry brother doesn’t feel great. That’s not fair on the other children.

As well as his golden pedestal from his near death at birth.

All the other children have grown up in his shadow only getting what his foods allow and then guilt trips and tears from mum and dad about how at least they aren’t ds2 can’t they do better and be nicer.

Bluebellsintheforest33 · 23/07/2026 19:40

Wow, this is extremely sad to read and the comments you have received are unfair.

The past has happened. You tried to deal with it the best you could. There is no perfect way to deal with a situation like that and you could never predict how the children would react with whatever route you went down.

The three children who reject their brother are selfish, nasty and entitled. This is on them. I had a similar situation with a sibling and I resented them so much. However, I got over it because I knew it was unreasonable.

Moving forward, i would remove all pressure on the 3 siblings to interact or include their brother. That will never work. I would make it very, very clear that unkind comments are not allowed (eg. Wishing he wasn't part of the family, how awful) under any circumstances and will have consequences.

I wouldn't remove financial support or anything like that.

They might go no contact or they might not, who knows. Only time will tell.

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