Mom calls 16-year-old son a psychopath because he was upset that he was getting a sister instead of a brother when he was 2-years-old: 'My dad told me I needed to stop being such a baby and act like a man.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
May 8, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

This kid's parents are Looney Tunes.

It's perfectly valid to be disappointed with your baby's gender. If you have a feeling that you're going to cry if you find out you're having a boy instead of a girl, it might be best that you don't throw a gender reveal party. However, I don't think it's morally wrong to be disappointed with something like that, especially if you're hormonal and pregnant. We all have ideas of who our kids are going to be, and finding out your baby's gender is the first time you realize they're their own person, and you can't mold them into your idea of a perfect kid.

It's especially common for young kids to be disappointed by their siblings' gender. A 2-year-old boy crying over the fact that he's getting a sister instead of a brother does not mean that he's a nefarious misogynist, nor does it mean that he won't be as close with his sister as a kid who jumped for joy upon learning he was getting a sister. It's common sense that kids who cry over their sibling's gender can change, but you should tell that to the parents in this story! Their ideas of what is okay for boys and girls do not make any sense. It's not just that they adhere to archaic (and even some made-up) gender roles. They are still mad at a teenager about an emotion he felt as a toddler!

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  • A young man in a blue hoodie looking at his cell phone
    via Caleb Wright

    A sad teenage boy whose relationship with his sisters has been ruined by his parents' insane behavior. 

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

  • Am I the bad guy for asking my mom why a girl wanting a sister is fine, but a boy wanting a brother makes him a psychopath?

    I'm (16m) one of six kids and the only boy. My younger sisters are 14, 11, 9, 8 and 5. Apparently I cried when my parents told me the first time that I was getting a sister. I remember not being
    via u/Luususs
  • happy the next two times I was told and I remember my mom telling me I was a psychopath for wanting a brother so bad that I wouldn't celebrate having sisters. She told me there
    via u/Luususs
  • was something deeply wrong with me and my dad agreed with her. He told me I didn't get to choose and I needed to stop being such a baby and act like a man.
    via u/Luususs
  • I didn't have any reaction to my next two sisters being girls. By then I felt like it didn't matter anyway and even if I got a brother he'd be too young to have fun with. Because for me that
    via u/Luususs
  • was the big issue with me having sisters. I was always told I couldn't play with my sisters like I would my friends. Girls didn't play video games, they didn't wrestle or jump on the trampoline or climb trees or play football. I was told that
    via u/Luususs
  • was for boys. For all I know my parents had that drilled into me before my first sister was even born and that's why I cried. But I always felt like I had nothing in common with girls and sadly we've been raised that way. I
    via u/Luususs
  • don't have a good relationship with my sisters and we're very different. They don't like boy things like video games, which aren't boy things but my parents taught us they were.
    via u/Luususs
  • I didn't like playing dolls or house or messing with makeup. My parents were very strict on all of this. It even goes into stuff like hiking is for boys while swimming for fun is for girls.
    via u/Luususs
  • A group of people swimming in a pool
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A group of girls swimming, which is generally not considered a sport that only girls should do. 

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

  • I know how to swim but swimming was for my sisters only in our family. My parents blame me for the relationship between me and my sisters. They told me
    via u/Luususs
  • if I wasn't so upset about them when I was little that we'd be close today and have a relationship like brother and sister should and they make it seem like wanting a sibling to play with was wrong. The word
    via u/Luususs
  • psychopath has been thrown around a few times the older I got too. Recently a friend of my mom found out her third child was a boy. She has a 5
    via u/Luususs
  • year old daughter and a 3 year old son already. She knew mom had been through that with me and asked mom to talk to her daughter and my mom told her it was normal for a little girl to want a sister and it
    via u/Luususs
  • Older sister kisses newborn baby sister surrounded by flowers
    via Josh Duncan

    A little girl kisses her newborn baby sister. 

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

  • was okay to be sad she was getting another brother. She was really sweet and even told her friend it would be okay. I was shocked. It bothered me enough that when her friend and the kids left I asked my mom why a girl wanting a sister is fine
    via u/Luususs
  • but a boy wanting a brother makes him a psychopath. My mom yelled and she told my dad when he got home and he yelled. They told me I was being intentionally naive and I should be a better man by now but clearly I'm not. AITAH?
    via u/Luususs

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baby toddler siblings parenting dad sister mom crying gender roles gender reveal
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