AITA: Teenager lashes out after parents ask him to skip Christmas gift so his sister can get fancy braces

A 16-year-old Redditor just dropped the mic on their family drama, airing out years of pent-up frustration in a fiery post on the Am I The A**hole subreddit.

The OP (Original Poster) is fed up with their parents’ blatant favoritism toward their younger sister, and this time it’s about skipping a Christmas gift so she can get fancy braces.

Parents show favoritism

The teenager starts off by laying out the family dynamic: parents who prioritize their 14-year-old sister’s happiness at the expense of, well, everything else. From skipping birthday parties to forfeiting candy, OP has been the family martyr for years.

He wrote: "If we both got invited to birthday parties on the same day they'd ask me to skip it so she could go to the other, instead of just dropping us off at the different parties. If it was my turn to pick where we ate for dinner and I wanted my favorite, and she complained, they'd ask me to let her pick, even though I didn't like her favorite either.

"But she was younger and a girl so they thought it was okay. If we went on vacation or to the amusement park close to our town, they'd ask if I minded going last so she could go on rides or do what she wanted to do, and then they'd just never get around to mine," he added.

"Then if I was given candy or something and she liked it, I'd be asked to give it to her. I did say no sometimes but I was either told I was an older sibling and should or they ignored my answer and did what they wanted to anyway."

Naturally, this golden child treatment turned the sister into a full-fledged diva. And when OP started earning babysitting money, the demands escalated. She wanted gifts, cash, and a say in OP’s finances.  Now, the sister needs braces—but not just any braces. She wants special ones.

"My sister needs braces now. She doesn't want the regular ones. I was told she's not getting Invisalign either but there's some special braces she won't mind wearing but they cost a lot. She complained when our parents said they didn't have the money and she complained so hard that she even said they shouldn't give me anything for Christmas this year to afford it," OP continued.

You guessed it: The parents ran with the idea and asked OP to “sacrifice” Christmas for the greater good. OP started to refuse, but the parents weren’t having it and talked over him until he snapped.

“I basically said f**k you and do what you want because I don’t count,” OP confessed. Then he turned to his sister.

"My sister was trying to say something about it and I pointed right at her face and told her to stop talking to me. I called her a spoiled and selfish brat and I said I don't want her to be my sister, I said I'm older but it doesn't mean she should always come first. She argued back at first and I told her to stay away from me and told her that she can f**k off with our parents. I was mad," OP wrote.

The parents were livid, of course. But after attempting to yell at OP and realizing he was too mad to be reasoned with, they pivoted. The next day, they scolded OP for snapping at his little sis.

"The next day they told me snapping at my sister was wrong and I shouldn't say yes if I mean no. So I said no and they said saying no doesn't work. I told them to eff off. They took my stuff for over a week for talking to them like that and they lectured me again for taking it out on my sister. AITA?"

Reddit comes to the rescue

Naturally, Redditors jumped in with their own takes. Most of the comments were nothing short of a roast session for the parents.

One posted: "NTA. Your parents are TERRIBLE parents and your sister is the product of their work."

Another wrote: "NTA... OP is there someone outside of your parents you can turn to? Like your grandparents or a friend? You're being slowly shunted out of your family because of your sister. I've been in your shoes and now my family wonders why I don't talk to them! You'll need to find someone to talk to, someone who is not connected to your family... maybe a school counselor or something, cause this will cause trauma down the line."

Someone else chimed in: "Keep doing what you’re doing. Maybe it’ll eventually sink in that they’re losers who are enabling your sister’s pathetic and entitled behavior."

A comment read: "NTA and I would just refuse to participate in any more family (and by this, I mean little sister) activities. Make other plans, stay in your room, or just refuse to engage. If they protest, just tell them you're ensuring their only child gets her way."

Another offered: "NTA. I would start hiding your money. Make sure you have a bank account they can't touch. My advice? Keep your mouth shut, and just bide your time. Keep your grades up to qualify for scholarships if you want to go to college. If you don't, then that nest egg of money should get you into a new place as soon as you hit 18. Lie and say you joined a club to work extra hours or say said club costs money so you don't have any. Keep your head up, and these last couple of years will fly by."

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