Why is my sibling always jealous of me?
Childhood parental favoritism leaves adults dealing with long-term emotional fallout, an internalized critical voice from a resentful sibling, and ongoing strained family relationships. It stops siblings from feeling secure in their relationships and traps them in a cycle of jealousy over uneven care.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1having honest conversations and apologizing to siblings
- 2maintaining low expectations for parental emotional support
- 3cutting off or limiting contact with toxic family members
- 4Scheduling dedicated one-on-one time or activities with the older child
- 5Switching off bedtime duties and using non-bedtime hours for individual attention
- 6Making space for a special picture book or regular walk with just the older child
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m in no way shape or form going to favor one kid over the other. As a kid/adult that still suffers from favoritism. It’s my life’s goal to treat my kids equally.”source ↗
““Why do you take care of my little sister so much, but take care of me less? I want you to take care of me more.””source ↗
““If I’m crying, I want you to hug me tighter, like you do with my little sister.””source ↗
“He has also once said he thinks we like the baby more. It's a tough feeling for sure”source ↗
“She was (and still is) jealous of me for things out of my control; I'm sure she shares a lot of the same feelings you do about your younger sister. But she was always horrible to me because of it, and as an adult, my inner critic is her voice.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 9How to handle extreme physical aggression between siblings
- 9How to handle sibling rivalry when kids compete in the same activities
- 3How to handle childhood jealousy over attention
- 3How to handle family schedules when siblings refuse to attend practices
- 7Older child acting out and getting jealous after new baby
- 9When should you step in during kids' arguments?