Today, my stepmother proved once again that she likes to play favourites. She has no job, so anything she gifts comes from my dad’s account. On my last birthday, I got £5 on a cheap card. Today, my step-brother's birthday, he got £400 and an iPad. He’s 4 years old. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, my mother's blatant favouritism of my little brother hit an all time high when she got him his dream car for his 18th birthday, to the tune of £7000. Do you know what she got me for my 18th last year? £10 in a card and a bottle of cheap wine that she ended up drinking herself. FML
Today, my parents bought my 11-year-old brother a MacBook for my birthday. FML
Today, it's my mother's birthday. She received the ultimate gift from my brother, who told her he had just been accepted into medical school. I bought her scratch-offs. She won a dollar. FML
Today, it was both my and my stepmother's birthday. In preparation, my dad bought a huge banner with my stepmother's name on it, and a lovely birthday cake. When I told him it was also my birthday, he just grunted and taped a post-it note to the banner with my name on it. Same with the cake. FML
Today, my mom proved to me that there was favoritism between me and my siblings. My mom made me use my money to buy everyone dinner, but when my brother wanted to buy himself food, my mom asked him if he was gonna buy me and our sister some too, he said, "No, I don’t want to" and she said, "That’s fine." FML
Today, my mom told me I was a bad daughter because I didn't get anything for my parents' anniversary. I just sent my brother a check for $400 for my share of their gift. FML
Today, I took my mom out to a fancy restaurant, and spent close to $300 on her Mother's Day present. Later, my little brother drew her a card with crayons on pink construction paper. She cried. He's 20 years-old. FML
Today, my husband got home on my birthday and told me he went overboard and bought a real expensive gift for his favourite girl. He then turned round and gave the real expensive gift to the girl in question, his 3 year-old niece. It’s not even her birthday. I got fuck all. FML
Today, my mother-in-law got me a pair of $2 socks for my birthday. Usually, I don't care… until I found out she got my husband's friend, not even best friend, a $100 gift card, and offered him her free hotel room at the casinos. This is the fifth holiday in a row I've received gifts under $10. FML
Today, my mother flipped out that I spent $20 on a gift for myself for my birthday. Instead of getting a gift for me, she spent $300 on a new vacuum cleaner, and claims that we didn't have enough left in our budget to spend on me. FML
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Top comments
ChromoTec 24
A 4-year-old needs £400 and an iPad? Your mom needs to rethink how she's treating her kids.
Nicolette1996 22
Next time give her tampons for her birthday :3 :D
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Comments (32)
ChromoTec 24
A 4-year-old needs £400 and an iPad? Your mom needs to rethink how she's treating her kids.
RichardPencil 32
You’re out of the loop, man! 4-year-olds today need at least 4 iPads: one for pre-K, one for car play, one for home play and one for their friends at a play date. They might also need a “burner iPad” in case they have a side piece on the DL. Perhaps you can chase your hoop-and-stick down the lane and stop embarrassing yourself by talking about modern times.
joeyl1990 28
You are absolutely correct birthday gifts, especially for young kids, should be things they need. $400 to a 4 year old IS completely unreasonable unless it's $400 in bonds or into a savings account or something like that. Still I dont see any problem with giving a 4 year old an ipad. Personally I would have went with android or kindle since they are cheaper and can come in kid editions but that's just me. As long as what they are doing and the amount of time spent on it is monitored there is nothing wrong with giving a kid a device like that. Especially if its only used for educational purposes. I personally think it's weird that the OP knows what her stepmom got her. Usually presents from a married couple are presented as coming from both of them so either the OP's father doesnt buy presents which is a problem within itself or the OP's fsther bought the OP a set of presents and the stepmother bought the OP different presents which case would make it understandable the stepmother bought her kid more expensive stuff than her step child.
Nicolette1996 22
Next time give her tampons for her birthday :3 :D
MidnaLink 35
Hopefully, it’s coming up REAL soon.
10thFloor 16
Now that's the way to go!
chosha_fml 27
What, and spend all their birthday money?
Agent JPN 9
That will teach her... period
NostalgiaFreak9 43
I'm not gonna say kids today are spoiled for simply using technology since I myself used computers at that age, but I never owned one personally and I still needed parental assistance to install games and dial up online.
RichardPencil 32
What’s your age, again? Because no one likes you when you’re 23 and complaining about your little brother’s loot! And that kid needs to cash in on his cuteness while he can. Some of us peak in adorableness in our pre-school years and then have to trudge through the rest of our lives as schlubs.
ChromoTec 24
I assume you speak from experience?
RichardPencil 32
I do!!! If only they had iPads when I was a cute kid! I would have cleaned up. Now, the townsfolk just throw rocks at me :(
97mailo 17
I wonder why.
Chazzster 32
Something is very, very wrong here. (1) No 4 year old needs or should be given $400 AND an iPad. Thats insane and bad parenting. It sets the kid up for grossly unrealistic expectations. It is ultimately a serious disservice to the child. (2) I am wondering about the kind of relationship OP and stepmom have. That sounds unhealthy but to be honest I wonder just how much of that problem lies with OP.
Jeremy Phillips 18
Given that she is the op’s stepmother and she has her own son living there, it is understands how she would prefer a biological child she was married into having, but I agree that it is a massive mistake to give a 4 yr old child an iPad. If this is such a problem maybe speak to your father.
withered 30
Why would it be a "massive mistake" that a child learns how to use technology? Just because they gave him an Ipad it doesn't mean he will use it all the time and never do anything else. + it's also a great learning tool. Just because older generations grew up without such technology it does not mean that today's children taking advantage of it is a bad thing. A massive mistake would be giving the child something he can hurt himself with.
bluebalistocat 4
While I am very sorry for how you are being treated, I do not like the fact that you seem to imply that your stepmother has no right to your family's money. She probably has a job that is just not paid, or do you have several nannies, cleaners, chauffeurs, etc. employed?
Chazzster 32
And that is one of the reasons that I suspect that OP is a significant factor in the apparent friction between him and stepmom.
aruden 25
Did you write all of that just to imply the stepmom is a stay at home home?
Fireball 4
I have a step mom also. I've known her for 11 years now ever since I met her and my dads been married to her its all about her and her kids. I know the feeling of getting treated like nothing. for my birthdays I get a usual day like its just a random day her kids on the other hand get treated like royalty. Some people just shouldn't have kids or step kids. Sorry its happing to you just know that your not the only one.
Chazzster 32
If the family is relatively “comfortable” financially speaking and the 4 year old in question has been taught to care for a tablet device, I can possibly see giving a child an iPad - with a case and a good screen protector. Where it seems way, way overboard is giving a 4 year old $400 in cash or the equivalent. No 4 year old is prepared to make the kind of decision about what to do with that much money. And it sets the child up for grossly elevated expectations. What comes next $1000 when he’s 10, their own house when they are 18? One thing that does not ring quite true about OP’s story thought - The switchover in money denominations in the middle of the story. OP gets 20 pounds, 4 year old gets $400? That makes me wonder just how much of the story is true.
Cali 57
There's no "$" in this FML on desktop. Does it look different in the app?
Gamessence 19
I'd love to be a stepmother just so i could treat those kids right