Woman, 40, Slammed for Jealousy Over Brother's $900 Birthday Gift From Dad

A woman has taken to the internet to ask if it is fair that her father has given her brother a better birthday present than her and her other siblings.

She explained that she has a brother and two sisters, and they are all well into their 40s. She took to the online discussion site Mumsnet to express her anger that her brother was set to receive a birthday gift worth over $900.

With hundreds of comments, the post sparked debate as the poster explained: "My dad has four children and has been speaking about getting my brother a new bike which costs around £800 for his birthday."

She continued: "We all work. Most minimum wage jobs but [my] brother probably has the least disposable income due to house and family costs. I just got a card for my birthday this year. Is that fair?"

Annoyed and feeling that the others were being treated differently from their brother, the woman asked for advice.

Information from the American National Family Life Survey in 2021 revealed the impact of parental favoritism on children. They said that: "Americans who grew up in families with favorites are more than twice as likely to report they felt lonely at least once a week growing up."

Meanwhile, adults who were raised in families with favoritism were less likely to turn to their parents for support in the future. Statistics found that "Nearly one in five men raised in families where there was a favorite child say that they had no one they could go to for help, compared to just 10 percent of those who grew up in households without favoritism."

Internet users were not sympathetic to the woman's upset. Suggesting that she should see things differently at her age.

One reply said: "You're all in your 40s? Blimey. Honestly, I couldn't get worked up about this."

"You are in your 40s, you have more disposable money than your brother anyway, just get on with your life," said another reply.

"I wouldn't be worrying about it if I was in my 40s," said another reply: "Maybe if I was 10 and my brother got a bike and I got a card but not [in my] 40s."

One Mumsnet user said: "Seriously he's brought him a bike—the way you're acting you'd think he's paid off his mortgage."

While the financial side of things was shrugged off by other commenters, it is not uncommon for parents to support their adult children financially. A recent survey by Savings.com found that half of parents with a child over 18 provide at least some financial support, with research suggesting that parents were spending around $1,000 a month on their adult children.

Offering further advice for the poster, another reply said: "It isn't fair that your brother is treated differently," but quickly added: "As you're all adults there is nothing for you to say or do. Not worth the effort of arguing about it."