28-year-old exposes her parents' favoritism by hiding her job promotion from them so they never have a chance to make it about the Golden Child older sibling: 'Oh, your brother could afford a house at your age'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Oct 12, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

Middle children are often noted as the 'Forgotten Child' of the family, but no matter the number of siblings you have, if you're not the Golden Child, you're out of luck in the parental approval category. In large families, the Forgotten Child is the one who gets left at the bathroom, never gets sunscreen put on them, and constantly gets pitted against the others' success. Always compared to her older brother, a woman went viral for sharing her story of her parents' favoritism. By hiding her job promotion from them, she was able to expose their favoritism and establish her own pride in her accomplishments; no parental advisory needed. 

Once you win respect from yourself, you no longer need it from your parents. 

Being proud of your own achievements is an important step for any adult, especially the Forgotten Child who was always 2nd place to Mom and Dad. Funnily enough, this woman was able to distance herself from her parents' favoritism, finding self-confidence in her own achievements without their approval. 

That's one small step for the least favorite child, and a giant leap for a confidently successful career woman on a path to excellence. 

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    via nortonrsx

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • AITJ for not telling my parents I got a promotion because they always make it about my brother?
    via Immediate_Rock1174
  • I (28F) recently got promoted at work, something I've been working toward for years. It came with a nice raise and a title I'm proud of.
    via Immediate_Rock1174
  • But I didn't tell my parents. Every time I share good news, they somehow turn it into a comparison to my older brother (31M).
    via Immediate_Rock1174
  • Like when I got my apartment, my mom said, "Oh, your brother could afford a house at your age." When I graduated, my dad said, "Your brother's degree was harder."
    via Immediate_Rock1174
  • So this time, I just... didn't tell them. My aunt (who knew) mentioned it at dinner last week, and my parents got upset that I "hid" something from them. My mom said, "You're punishing us for being proud of your brother."
    via Immediate_Rock1174
  • I said, "No, I'm protecting my peace." My dad called that "cruel" and said I'm being "distant and bitter."
    via Immediate_Rock1174
  • Now I'm wondering if I should've just told them and ignored the usual comments. AITJ for not sharing my promotion?
    via Immediate_Rock1174
  • Carma... NTJ. They're just mad they didn't get another opportunity to make it about your brother. Congrats on your promotion!
    via Carma
  • Situation-Mediocre Why do this to yourself? Go low contact and when they question it say "so you can appreciate my brother better."
    via Situation-Mediocre
  • Grand-Jump-3216 "You're punishing us for being proud of your brother" "You people are so all about him that I could even give birth to my child and you will still find a way to say how he I could have done it much better"
    via Grand-Jump-3216
  • greystad No you are not the j Unfortunately your parents have a golden child. Tell them you are not competing with your brother and do not want to be compared. Until they can respect that they will be on an information diet about your life.
    via greystad
  • Different One265. Notice how your parents still didn't congratulate you? That tells you all you need to know about them. People only know as much about you as you are willing to tell them. Stay silent. Stay happy.
    via Different One265
  • Jsmith2127. Ntj. "You're still making it about my brother" Honestly I stop telling them anything, or even going to these dinners.
    via Jsmith2127
  • Ruthless Bunn Stop dealing with people who don't support you No law says you have to do anything with your parents when they actively harm your wellbeing.
    via RuthlessBunn

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