Woman Says Her Mother Always Favored Her Sibling—And One Birthday Gift Still Hurts
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Favoritism doesn’t always show up in dramatic moments, sometimes it shows up subtly, year after year, in the small details nobody else seems to notice.
One woman spent her childhood and young adulthood watching her mom pour visible thought into her older sister’s birthday gifts while her own felt like an obligation rather than a celebration.
That pattern crystallized most clearly during her late teens and early twenties, when her only birthday gift each year was the newest Harry Potter release, a book her mom and sister had already read cover to cover before ever handing it to her.
When she pushed back, pointing out that she should logically be the first to read a gift meant for her, she was told it didn’t make a difference.
Now she’s revisiting that old memory, wondering if her frustration was actually justified all along.
Keep reading for the full story.
AITA for considering already read books not a real gift?
My mom has always favored my older sister (even into middle age), and as kids it led both of them to kind of ganging up on me.
This favoritism often manifested itself in unequal gift giving.
Most years I would be a witness to my mom putting a lot of thought into my sister’s birthday gift while mine felt like an afterthought.
When I was in my late teens/early twenties, we were all fans of the Harry Potter series, and the new books were usually released a little before my birthday.
So you can guess what happened next.
My mom would get me the new book as a birthday gift (my only gift), but she and my sister would both read it before giving it to me.
I complained that I should be the first one to read it if it was a gift for me, but they said it doesn’t make a difference.
AITA?
What kind of gift is that?
Redditors are sure to have some strong opinions.
This commenter would also feel rather disrespected by this “gift.”
This gift felt like an afterthought because it was an afterthought.
Her family crossed a clear line here.
There’s a right way to give a book as a gift.
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A gift that’s already been read by two other people before it reaches you isn’t really a gift anymore, it’s a hand-me-down.
The complaint wasn’t about the book itself, it was about being consistently treated like an afterthought in a household where her sister’s celebrations came with genuine care attached.
Being told “it doesn’t make a difference” is exactly the kind of dismissal that teaches a kid to stop pointing out patterns, even when the patterns are real and repeated.
This woman really drew the short end of the stick in this family.
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