Internet Backs Redditor Who Exposed Parents' Favoritism by Secretly Recording Them

Family dynamics vary, and parenting may have a major impact on it.

Redditor Just-a-Big-Brother took to the "Am I the A**hole" Subreddit when he recorded and posted a conversation he had with his parents after learning they were planning to pay for his brother's college tuition but would not pay for his.

He explained in his post -- which garnered more than 15,000 votes and more than 1,000 comments -- that while he was not unloved, his parents favored his younger brother.

In order to save money for tuition at community college, Just-a-Big-Brother wrote that he was working a full-time job and taking a gap year. However, he overheard his parents talking about how they planned to pay for his brother's college tuition.

"I secretly recorded the conversation from around the corner and then came out asking my parents why they were [going to] pay for my brother's college but not mine," he wrote.

Just-a-Big-Brother wrote that his parents told him, not knowing he was recording the conversation, that his brother needed more help. After prodding his parents further and asking "why things have always been this way," he said they got angry. Just-a-Big-Brother continued and wrote that his father suggested that it was time for him to move out because they were "sick of keeping a roof over my head."

He left the room and uploaded the video to two of his social media accounts. Just a few hours later, his parents found the video and he wrote that his father was "screaming" at him. The Redditor said his grandparents contacted him and stopped by the house the next day.

"There was a huge family intervention and my parents were made to sit on the couch and look at their feet while being told off," he wrote. "It was then I found out they'd been receiving money for years from my grandparents to help with family expenses."

Just-a-Big-Brother wrote that his brother did not know what to do, but admitted he did notice how he was being treated by their parents. He then wrote that his parents offered an apology, but said it sounded forced.

His grandparents offered Just-a-Big-Brother a place to live and his parents would no longer receive monthly payments.

"My father told me I should never have told the rest of the family and now won't talk to me, and my mother has been crying for days," Just-a-Big-Brother wrote. "So now I'm starting to wonder if I went [too] far."

Many commenters, however, supported the Redditor.

"Your parents are just pissed because people know the truth about them and they're no longer going to be receiving handouts from your grandparents," one comment reads. "That's what they're really upset about: losing the free money."

The commenter continued and wrote that Just-a-Big-Brother should live with his grandparents instead.

Other Redditors agreed. They chimed in and said it was "good to hear" the rest of the family supported Just-a-Big-Brother.

Another Redditor wrote that she was seen as the "golden child," but resents it and the way her mother treats her sister.

"I point it out to mom every chance I get," she wrote. "It's always been this way and I've always hated it, but my sister can't/won't stand up to our mom, and unfortunately, I can't do much without my sis being willing to provide consequences."

Others also shared personal experiences with having a sibling that was favored by their parents and the effect it had on them growing up.

According to an article published with Healthline, parental favoritism can have long-term effects.

It continued and noted that it can create tension between siblings, affect a child's self-esteem and damage the entire "family unit."

Family therapist Michele Levin said in order to address these issues, it is important not to dismiss a child when they come to their parent with that concern.

"Genuinely validate how they're feeling and then problem-solve," she said.