How Excessive Love of Our Parents Ruined My Brother's Life – Story of the Day

These parents treated their son like the golden child while ignoring their older daughter, but years later, everyone discovers how it ruined that boy's life.

While most people like to believe that parents love their children equally, that’s not always the case. From a very young age, Emily discovered that her parents paid more attention to her baby brother, Louis.

She was only two years older than Louis, but the favoritism started right away, and it didn’t change as they grew older. Anytime she asked or showed her mother something, she would only look at her for a few seconds before turning back to Louis.

After a while, Emily learned to become as invisible as possible. But things got worse as they grew older because Louis took full advantage of his golden child status. He hated when other family members would pay any mind to Emily.

He would run to their parents, and they would try to shift all eyes to him. So, Emily became reserved and tried to blend into the background from then on.

To make matters worse, their family wasn’t particularly wealthy. But Louis had the best of everything.

“Mom, my shoes are a bit torn up. Can I get new ones?” Emily asked one time when she was ten years old and noticed that the soles of her sneakers were falling off.

“Oh. We can’t buy new shoes. There’s no money right now,” her mom answered. “You should have taken better care of them! We just bought them.”

Emily walked away at that point, but the truth is that the shoes were a year old. They were tearing up because she was growing and didn’t fit into them that well. The following day, she noticed her brother playing with her dad outside.

They had bought him a basketball with a hoop and everything. “Mom, I thought we didn’t have any money. Why did you buy Louis a basketball?” she asked.

“Those are not toys. It’s an investment. Your brother will become a huge basketball player in the future and needed those,” she said and went outside to watch her husband with their son playing around.

That’s when Emily understood that she was on her own. She was a dedicated student and was interested in several extracurricular activities, but her parents refused to pay. Louis was a different story.

Meanwhile, Louis hated school and had given up basketball just a few days after buying him all that equipment. Years went by, and their parents would hire the best tutors. He also got everything he ever wanted without question.

He signed up for a few activities and gave them up quickly too. Louis was only dedicated to playing video games and chatting with his buddies. He also ignored Emily all the time. She was like a ghost in her own home.

Luckily, Emily was able to talk to the school principal, who allowed her to play on the volleyball team without charge due to her amazing grades. She excelled at it and received praise for the first time in her life.

This also meant she was away from her neglectful home for long periods of time. Going to away games was harder due to money, but one of her aunts took pity on her and paid whenever possible.

“Dad, I just aced this important exam! It’ll go on my college transcript. Isn’t it cool?” Emily said one night at dinner on a rare occasion where they weren’t talking about Louis.

“Hmm. If you’re so good at exams, why aren’t you helping your brother with school?” he asked.

“But Louis has the best tutors in the city. He doesn’t need me,” she added, subdued.

“We all need to contribute to your brother’s future! He’s going to be so successful but needs more attention. These schools are not up to his potential,” their mother said while smiling at Louis.

“He’s the worst in his class because he doesn’t want to study and doesn’t listen to teachers,” Emily commented.

“Young lady! You will not be that disrespectful at the dinner table! Those teachers are incompetent. We pay taxes, which pay their salaries, but Louis hasn’t learned anything useful for his future. I swear, education in this country has gotten worse,” his father ranted.

He continued talking, but Emily got up from the table and went to her room. They didn't even notice she was gone.

As soon as she turned 16, the local ice cream shop owner gave her a part-time job. She paid for volleyball and even bought herself a new phone. Her family barely noticed that she was gone all the time and never asked her why.

Eventually, Emily earned a huge scholarship to one of the best schools. She only shared the news with her aunt, who helped her as much as possible. “Hey, guys. I’m leaving,” Emily said one day. She had her bags packed for college, and her brother was playing video games in the living room.

Her father was drinking beer and watching something on his phone while her mother was in the kitchen. “You don’t have to tell us when you’re going out, you know,” Louis said.

“No. I’m leaving for college,” she said. Her mother turned around, and her father finally looked up.

“What do you mean you’re leaving for college? You haven’t finished high school, and more importantly, who is paying for that? I’m not going to,” her father said derisively.

“I graduated two months ago. I don’t need you to pay for anything. I got a full-ride scholarship. I just wanted to say goodbye,” Emily said.

“You can’t leave like that! We’re your family. You have to stay and help your brother finish high school and get that same scholarship,” her mother said.

“Respectfully, none of you are my family. I don’t have to do anything for my brother. He has to earn it himself, and since the two of you have spoiled him so badly, I doubt he will. Good luck,” she finished and walked out the door.

The three of them had followed, yelling about how disrespectful she had been and how horrible she was. But Emily paid them no mind. Her taxi was already in front, and she got in without a glance back to her family.

Despite the years of neglect, Emily was a good person. In the following years, she was often tempted to call back to check in with them. But in the end, she never did.

Her aunt revealed that Louis barely graduated school and didn’t get into college. He was apparently refusing to get a job, and her parents were supporting him completely.

Meanwhile, Emily moved on with her life. She got married and had a child of her own. It had been more than 15 years since she left home when her aunt called her.

Her parents had died in a car accident a few months earlier, and her brother was not doing well. Emily thought about ignoring it but couldn’t. She flew home and saw how horrible Louis looked.

Her baby brother looked disheveled, broken, and at least ten years older than she did. They sat down on the kitchen table, and Emily noticed how horrible the house looked.

“I’m so sorry, Emily. For everything. I’ve done nothing with my life,” he said through sobs. “I had to sell a bunch of our parents’ things to pay for stuff.”

“Calm down, Louis. It will be alright,” she said.

“How?!” he exclaimed.

“I will help you. But I won’t coddle you as our parents did. This is only partly their fault because you should have matured. You did not take advantage of all the opportunities they gave you while neglecting me,” Emily told him.

It was harsh, but Louis needed to grow up for once. “I know. I’m so sorry,” was all he could say. And Emily made good on her promise. She helped him get into a local community college while finding him a job.

She also helped him fix up their parents’ house, which was in dire need of repairs. Louis learned what hard work was for the first time in his life and actually loved it. So, they were able to build a relationship despite all that happened in the past.

What can we learn from this story?

1. Love your children equally. Having a child is a huge commitment, and they all deserve your attention.

2. Forgiveness is divine. Emily could have ignored her brother like her family did all those years, but she was better than that.

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