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Parents Keep Prioritizing Teen’s Stepsiblings’ Allergies Even On His B-Day, He Finally Has Enough
Teen with birthday hat looks disappointed at small cake while family smiles behind him during birthday dinner with stepkids allergies issues

Parents Keep Prioritizing Teen’s Stepsiblings’ Allergies Even On His B-Day, He Finally Has Enough

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When it’s your birthday, it’s obvious that you expect special treatment at least from your loved ones. Especially when you are a teen, it matters more somehow. I remember celebrating for a whole week for my sweet 16, and forcing my friends and family to do my bidding.

Unfortunately, not all families are as awesome as mine, including the original poster’s (OP). They have been forcing him to go to the same restaurant for all his birthday dinners because of his stepsiblings’ allergies, but he has had it with this place. Read on to find out what he did!

More info: Reddit

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    Just because someone in the family has an allergy doesn’t mean others should be banned from eating that food

    Various allergenic foods including fish, peanuts, milk, eggs, and shellfish arranged on a light surface.

    Image credits: freepik / Freeepik (not the actual photo)

    The poster’s stepsiblings have some serious allergies, so their family has always gone to this one allergy-friendly restaurant

    Text excerpt about teen's birthday ignored by parents due to stepkids' allergies, expressing frustration over boring food choices.

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    Teen shares frustration as parents ignore birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergy restrictions and boring food choices.

    Text excerpt about parents limiting food options due to stepkids’ allergies, leading to boring meals for a teen.

    Teen expresses frustration over parents ignoring birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergy-friendly food preferences.

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    Family enjoying a meal together at a wooden table, highlighting stepkids allergies affecting birthday food choices

    Image credits: autorius / agency (not the actual photo)

    But he hates the place as the food is not really appealing, and he’s also sick of being forced to go there for each of his birthday dinners

    Text about teen mentioning parents ignoring birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and boring food frustration.

    Text describing a teen’s birthday food wishes ignored by parents due to stepkids’ allergies, causing frustration over boring meals.

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    Teen expresses frustration as parents prioritize stepkids’ allergies, leading to boring birthday food and ignored wishes.

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    Teen frustrated as parents ignore birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies, leading to eating boring food conflict.

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    Teen boy with birthday hat looking upset over small cake while parents and stepkids eat food ignoring his wishes at dinner table.

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    He tried showing his mom and stepdad other options, but the lazy couple refused to budge and went to the same place for his 15th birthday

    Text excerpt from a teen about parents prioritizing stepkids’ allergies and the impact on birthday food choices.

    Teen expresses frustration over parents ignoring birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and boring family meals.

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    Teen expresses frustration as parents ignore birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and boring food choices.

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    Teen upset as parents ignore birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies, expressing frustration over boring food options.

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    Sick of it all, he refused to go there for his 16th birthday, and now, the lazy parents are lashing out against him for his actions

    This is a family conflict that erupted over allergies and a teen getting sidelined because of them. It started with OP’s stepdad moving in when he was just 7 and the discovery of the allergies that his stepsiblings have. Since he was a kid, he hadn’t understood how strict things would be until his mom and stepfather started restricting him from even eating certain foods.

    Then came the allergy-friendly restaurant that the couple found, and it became their eternal place for all the special family meals, like birthdays and other occasions. The poster started despising this place because of the lack of options it had for him. I mean, can you really blame OP when he’s never able to eat a decent meal of his choice, even on his birthdays?

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    He decided to do something about it and looked for other allergy-friendly places that the family could visit for special occasions. Much to his dismay, the couple were too lazy to even look at his suggestions and just brushed him off. Last year, on his 15th birthday, he angrily told them that he was sick of the place and the food, but still, they just refused to budge. 

    Again, the focus was all on his stepsiblings’ allergies while he got completely sidelined. So, on his 16th birthday, a few days back, he finally put his foot down and refused to go. The ignorant parents still tried to make plans, but none of the family showed up, as they are well aware of how the teen feels. However, this backfired a little as now, he’s facing backlash from his mom and stepdad.

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    Teen boy in pink hoodie sitting alone outside, appearing upset about parents ignoring his birthday and stepkids’ allergies.

    Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

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    Research states that 40% of families in the U.S. are blended with at least one partner having a child from a previous relationship before marriage. However, despite this high number, experts note that such families still face challenges when it comes to adjusting to new members, just like with OP.

    On top of being coaxed to integrate with the new family, he has also been sidelined as his mom and stepdad have always made everything about the other kids’ allergies. It’s awful to see that the couple is not even considering the places that the teen is suggesting. Folks online highly criticized this behavior and mentioned that this is blatant favoritism.

    According to FamilyLife, “Playing favorites can wreak havoc in a stepfamily. Stepsibling conflict may be a sign of favoritism by one or both parents.” The poster doesn’t really mention whether her has bonded with his stepsiblings or not. However, if his parents keep favoring their allergies over his wishes constantly, then he might not be very eager to bond with them, will he?

    Netizens also found it unacceptable that even in the house, OP doesn’t have freedom of choice, and they felt that this is just a toxic form of control, which research has proven to be unhealthy. Many of them called out his lazy parents and said it’s good that he stopped celebrating his special day with them. They said he should celebrate it with his friends who actually respect his choice.

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    If you were in his shoes, what would you do? Let us know in the comments!

    Netizens felt bad that they were being so awful to the poster, and came up with ways he could navigate his troubles

    Reddit discussion about parents ignoring teen birthday wishes due to stepkids allergies causing frustration over boring food.

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    Reddit discussion about parents ignoring teen’s birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and boring meal choices.

    Screenshot of a discussion about parents ignoring a teen’s birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and boring food complaints.

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    Reddit comments discussing parents ignoring teen’s birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and food restrictions.

    Reddit comment discussing teen’s birthday party frustrations and parents prioritizing stepkids’ allergies over his food preferences.

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    Screenshot of a family discussion about parents ignoring teen’s birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and food preferences.

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    Screenshot of Reddit conversation where a teen says parents ignore his birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and boring food complaints.

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    Screenshot of an online conversation about parents ignoring a teen’s birthday due to stepkids’ allergies and food frustrations.

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    Reddit conversation about parents ignoring teen’s birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies and boring food complaints.

    Screenshot of a Reddit conversation discussing parents ignoring teen’s birthday wishes due to stepkids’ allergies.

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    Rutuja Dumbre

    Rutuja Dumbre

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

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    Hey, am Rutuja! A storyteller at heart and a writer at Bored Panda. I have a strange love for words, and I mostly survive on coffee which is the driving force behind my writing. I enjoy working on articles that purely entertain our readers. When am not writing or trekking, you can find me staying up late and watching all the matches of Football Club Barcelona!

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    Rutuja Dumbre

    Rutuja Dumbre

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Hey, am Rutuja! A storyteller at heart and a writer at Bored Panda. I have a strange love for words, and I mostly survive on coffee which is the driving force behind my writing. I enjoy working on articles that purely entertain our readers. When am not writing or trekking, you can find me staying up late and watching all the matches of Football Club Barcelona!

    What do you think ?
    Ellinor
    Community Member
    5 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    NTA at all, a birthday is supposed to be about you and what you like, it's normal. The mother and stepdad are awful parents and they are both showing HUGE preference between their kids which will have bigger effects in the future.

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    Janissary35680
    Community Member
    Premium
    5 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The solution lies in the OP's comment "the rest of the family know how I feel." OP needs to start working on an exit strategy with them in the loop.

    Load More Comments
    Ellinor
    Community Member
    5 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    NTA at all, a birthday is supposed to be about you and what you like, it's normal. The mother and stepdad are awful parents and they are both showing HUGE preference between their kids which will have bigger effects in the future.

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    Janissary35680
    Community Member
    Premium
    5 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The solution lies in the OP's comment "the rest of the family know how I feel." OP needs to start working on an exit strategy with them in the loop.

    Load More Comments
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