Online commenters applauded a woman who recently "stole" her husband's birthday money.
Posting in Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) forum under the username u/OakLawn17, the woman asked: "AITA for using my husband's birthday gift money to buy my daughter a bike [because] her stepsister refused to share her bike?"
The post has garnered over 7,000 upvotes and 1,600 comments from supportive Redditors, many of whom accused the woman's "entitled" husband of displaying favoritism. You can read the full post here.
Biological favoritism is the tendency for a parent to show "more leniency" toward their biological children than they do toward their stepchildren, said Baton Rogue Parents Magazine. It can also be the habit of spending more money on their own children on birthdays and special occasions or showering them with more gifts.
The Center For Family Unity, a California-based psychotherapist's office, said that while this type of favoritism is normal, parents must strive to treat their children and stepchildren equally.
"Stepchildren feel like outsiders when they're treated as 'less than' and will not integrate into a stepfamily when they sense unfairness," the Center said. "A predictable outcome of parental favoritism is competition between siblings and sibling rivalry, which stepfamilies are set up for already."
The woman prefaced her post by saying that she and her husband "aren't doing good financially." Despite this, her husband recently bought his 13-year-old daughter-her stepdaughter-a $200 bike.
"My 11-year-old daughter secretly liked it and asked if she could get a few rounds with it. My stepdaughter said, 'NOOO,' which was understandable seeing how obsessed she was with it," u/OakLawn17 wrote.
Though her stepdaughter eventually grew tired of the bike, the teenager still refused to share it.
"The other day my daughter called me crying," u/OakLawn17 said, adding that she rushed home to find her daughter sitting alone on the porch.
"I asked her what happened and she told me she had asked her stepsister to let her play with the bike but she refused, and when my daughter pointed out [that] the bike was just laying in the garage...her stepsister shouted at her saying she'd rather throw the bike in the ocean and let it rust than let her ride it," u/OakLawn17 continued.
The child also said her stepfather-u/OakLawn17's husband-called her an "entitled brat." When u/OakLawn17 confronted her husband about the incident, he said: "My daughter should not feel like she has to share what she has with anyone...it's her bike and if [your daughter] wants a bike so bad...then you can go ahead and get her one!"
So, u/OakLawn17 took the money she'd been saving for her husband's birthday present and used it to buy her daughter a bike instead.
"[My husband] yelled saying I shouldn't have touched his gift money...He even went as far as to say that I stole the watch money and threatened to exclude me from his birthday," u/OakLawn17 concluded.
Many Redditors accused u/OakLawn17's husband of displaying favoritism and called him "entitled."
"NTA [not the a**hole]. How the tables have turned lol. Well done you didn't steal anything this was your hard-earned money, not his. I'm glad you stood up for your daughter. Honestly, you should reconsider your relationship with your partner. He seemed a bit too happy punishing your daughter and playing favorites," u/aloetsuki said.
"I think it's pretty f**ked up to gift one child a bike and not the other and not make them share. They're roughly the same age. It just screams favoritism. It's weird as s**t that a grown man feels entitled to a watch though and just expects it," u/Flimsy_Angle_9573 wrote.
"Your husband is an AH [a**hole]! I hope your daughter enjoys the bike though! Sounds like she deserves it more than your selfish bratty husband deserves that watch. Honestly don't know why the girls couldn't have shared the bike in the first place, he literally played favorites right in front of you and your daughter," u/6tl6ntis6 added.
Newsweek has reached out to u/OakLawn17 for comment.
Redditors praised a man last week for telling his partner's stepsister to "f**k off" after she berated his thoughtful gift.
Earlier last month, commenters criticized a teen who threw his stepsister's belongings in oil and burned them.
Redditors also slammed a man last month who chose to attend his stepdaughter's birthday party over his biological son's graduation party.
Related Articles
Start your unlimited Newsweek trial