Teen Pulls Away from Relatives After Years of Being Excluded and Insulted

A teen turned to the Reddit community for advice following years of hurtful treatment from relatives who, she said, never made her or her parents feel welcome.

She explained that on her father’s side, she had only three cousins and that “everyone on my father’s side is very close to each other,” yet she never felt included.

In her post, she wrote that she had begun noticing that “none of my dad’s siblings really respect him,” adding that her aunts often excluded her mother from conversations. She recalled moments when her mother would walk into a room, try to join in and the others would “sit for a few minutes and then go sit in the other room and start talking.”

The teen described how decisions about the household were routinely made without her parents. “They would tell the neighbors but not my parents,” she shared, highlighting a pattern that left her parents sidelined.

She also said that despite her father having sacrificed his early adulthood to support his siblings after losing their father, her aunts still dismissed him. “My dad was like 20 years old when his father died,” she wrote, explaining that he worked hard so his siblings could study and pursue their dreams.

The painful behavior extended to her and her belongings. She remembered how, after her birthday, her mom stored leftover party items in a cupboard, only for them to be found thrown across the floor days later. “My aunt was sitting and chilling like nothing happened,” she wrote, adding that her aunt “didn’t want my stuff in that ‘common cupboard.’ ”

According to the teen, her mother had tried repeatedly to be kind, buying things for her sisters-in-law whenever she bought things for her own family. But she recalled one day when her mom found a box she had gifted an aunt “thrown on the floor,” and again the aunt acted as if nothing had happened. After that moment, she said, her mother stopped trying.

The teen said she experienced similar treatment, especially during outings where her cousins were included but she was left behind. “This one time when we were really young, they took my cousin sis and left me crying and my neighbor aunty consoled me,” she recalled. “My aunts’ logic was ‘we can’t take care of two kids.’ ”

On top of the exclusion, she shared that her aunts made repeated comments about her looks.

She noted that her relatives stayed in touch with her cousin through calls, texts and social media, but they never reached out to her. Feeling unwanted, she gradually stopped asking for affection. “I don’t visit them much,” she admitted, explaining that her distance only led to more taunts.

Her uncle, she said, frequently complained that she “ignores them and doesn’t ever visit or talk,” but refused to acknowledge past behavior. When her mother pointed out how they had once ignored the teen’s crying, he insisted, “Let’s not bring [up] past matters.”

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Despite their treatment of her, she said her father remained respected by extended relatives who weren’t his siblings. “They talk to my dad about everything because my dad has always helped everyone,” she wrote, noting the unfair contrast.

After sharing her story, one commenter told her, “It’s your decision who you wish to interact with in your life,” reminding her that “DNA does not make family.”

“Stop trying, they have made it clear how they feel about you and it’s their fault, not yours. Spend your time with your awesome dad and help him ignore them, too,” another countered. “As for their shit talking, ignore that as well. Just because they are blood does not mean they are family.”