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Family is like Wi-Fi—when it's strong, it keeps everything connected, but at times, it can get weak or even (randomly) disconnect.
So since the holidays are getting closer and closer, we decided to put together a list of pictures showing how inconsiderate we can be to our closest loved ones.
Some depict simple everyday life situations and others highlight more serious moments but hopefully, they will remind you to be kind, cherish the little moments, and laugh together along the way.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
My Brother Left My Original Super Nintendo Outside In A Box For Years
I’m actually heart broken. I left my original, working Super Nintendo and collection of games (that my late mother gave me) at my parents house when I moved in with my now husband. I assumed it was safe in the attic for the past 5 years. When I came home for Christmas this year my brother tells me it’s ruined.
He had used it at some point apparently, then brought it back to my parent’s and left it in the side yard in a plastic storage box. He said he'd "check on it periodically" but never told me it was there or moved it literally 20 feet into the garage. If he had just told me it was there I would have flown home just to move it to the attic myself. When he "checked on it" this year, the box had broken down and everything was ruined by water.
I’m so upset. Especially about the Dr. Mario. It was so special to my mom and I that I got a Dr. Mario tattoo the day after she died.
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#2
My 16 Year Old Sister Spent Two Hours Cooking Christmas Dinner And My Mom Wont Eat Because Shes Mad That My Sister Didn't Like Her Present
The gift was a pink purse. My sister doesn't use purses and she also hates the colour pink.
There are many types and degrees of dysfunction in families, but psychotherapist Sharon Martin says they tend to be unpredictable, chaotic, and sometimes frightening.
"Quite simply, dysfunctional families don’t know how to deal with feelings in healthy ways," she writes.
"Parents who are dealing with their own problems or are taking care of (often enabling) an addicted or dysfunctional partner, don’t have the time, energy, or emotional intelligence to pay attention to, value, and support their children’s feelings."
#5
My Mom Took A Bite Of My Birthday Cake That I Bought For Myself
Yesterday was my birthday and to celebrate i bought 2 slices of cakes after work for me to enjoy, but because it was late i put it in the fridge to eat later. I was a little stressed recently so when I got off work today i feel happy because im about to enjoy some cake which i havent had in a while, but when i open the fridge lo and behold my mom took a bite out of them. Yes she knew it was my birthday yesterday, no i dont think she cared. I might be a little overreacting but im feeling more than a little upset over it. I know its not a big deal but its just the principle of the thing, you know ? My mood was immediately shattered.
As Claudia Black said in her book It Will Never Happen to Me, alcoholic—and dysfunctional—families follow three unspoken rules: don't talk, don't trust, don't feel.
According to the first one, you must act like everything is fine and make sure everyone else thinks you are a perfectly normal family.
This is often extremely confusing for children who sense that something is wrong, but no one acknowledges it. Because of that, children conclude that they are the problem.
#7
Gone For Two Weeks. My Husband Piled His Clothes By The Washer Instead Of Doing His Own Laundry
Because no one is allowed to talk about the dysfunction, the family is full of secrets and shame. Children, in particular, feel alone, hopeless, and begin to think nobody else is going through what they're experiencing.
The don’t talk rule ensures that no one acknowledges the real issues.
And when the roots of the family’s problems are denied, they can never be solved.
#9
Just Trying To Make Plans For My Birthday With My Step Dad
We don’t go out much, maybe go out to eat once every month. I invited him and my mom to 1 concert this year and the train ride was a suggestion for my mom’s birthday. All of those things he always insists on paying himself even though I offer money.
#10
Left My Husband In Charge Of Our Dogs While The Kids And I Visited My Family, He Chose To Stay At His Brothers And Only Let Our Dogs Out Once A Day. Yesterday He Sent Me This Picture And Proceeds To Blame It On Me
#11
Dad Is Addicted To Mobile Games To The Point Of Playing Them While Driving. I Made Him Sit Passenger For The Rest Of The Day Because Of How Much He Was Swerving
Children depend on their parents or caregivers to keep them safe, but when they grow up in a dysfunctional family, they don’t feel they're adequately nurtured. Without that basic sense of safety, children feel anxious and have difficulty trusting not only their parents, but also the world.
"Children don’t develop a sense of trust and security in dysfunctional families because their caregivers are inconsistent and undependable," Martin explains. "They are neglectful, emotionally absent, break promises, and don’t fulfill their responsibilities."
"In addition, some dysfunctional parents expose their children to dangerous people and situations and fail to protect them from abuse. As a result, children learn that they can’t trust others, even their parents, to meet their needs and keep them safe (the most fundamental form of trust for a child)," the psychotherapist adds.
In addition to the don’t talk mandate, the don’t trust rule keeps the family isolated and perpetuates the fear that if you ask for help, something bad will happen.
#12
My Mom Kindly Promised She Would Maintain My Car While I Was Away Temporarily. She Didn't And Now It Has A Dead Battery And A Moldy Interior
#13
My Sister Plucked Out Her Knee Hairs Because They're "Too Hard To Shave" And Left Them On My Desk
#14
My Dad Trimmed My Watermelon Plant, To "Make The Nutrients From Roots To All Go To The Fruits", And Now It Died
I tried to stop him from doing it for days, but he just won't listen. He also pruned our grape vine for the same reason, fortunately it lived.
#15
Sister Ate All My Jolly Ranchers. Ive Been Wanting To Taste Them Ever Since I Was A Kid And It Was Given To Me As A Gift By A Friend From America Since Theyre Not Available In Our Country
Repressing painful or confusing emotions is a popular coping strategy within dysfunctional families. Children witness their parents numbing themselves with alcohol, drugs, food, pornography, and technology, and since true emotions often aren't expressed and dealt with in a healthy way, everyone learns that it's better to not feel.
Children quickly learn that expressing yourself will, at best, lead to being ignored and, at worst, result in violence, blame, and shame.
#16
Mom Called My Job To Tell Me To Lie About An Emergency For An Event, Now I Have To Report To My Supervisor Tomorrow
I am in the US Air Force and my mom had called my tech school to tell my MTL that I needed to call her. I was in class and I get my phone every evening. Now my MTL wants to talk to me tommorow about the message. I just passed my inspections and supposed to upgrade next week. I literally joined to get away from her and now she’s telling me to lie to my MTL and tell them that my uncle got in a car crash even though it’s for my brothers graduation which I can’t go to because I have school and she knows that. This infuriates me so much.
#18
The Way My Mom And Brother Left The Dishes For Me After A Twelve Hour Shift. The Dishwasher Was Empty But They Put All The Dishes In The Sink
#19
My Mom Was Supposed To Come Visit For The First Time In Like 15 Years, So I Stayed Up All Night Smoking A Brisket. She Flaked. I'm Not Even Surprised
"Shame is pervasive in dysfunctional families," Martin adds. "It's the feeling you have when you think there’s something wrong with you, that you’re inferior or unworthy. Shame is the result of family secrets and denial and being told you’re bad and deserve to be hurt or neglected."
#21
My Sister Saying "Who Cares? Can You Still Drive The Truck!?" To Her Bag Scratching Up The Glove Box Of My Car
#22
My Dad Washes His Socks In Cups We Drink Coffee From. He Does This Every Night, With Dish Soap.
Sometimes people get so hurt, they decide they would be better off without each other. In a 2023 study of parent and adult child estrangement published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, researchers looked at a list of people that included 8,495 mothers and 8,119 fathers, and found that 6% of people reported an estrangement from their mother, while 26% reported an estrangement from their father. The average age was 26 for an estrangement with a mother and 23 for an estrangement with a father.
#24
I Have To Live With This
This is the current state of my room! I try to clean it weekly, make it so that it's an enjoyable place to be in. Me, being gone for the weekend, apparently gave my mom permission to reorganise her room and shove everything into mine.
#25
Family Said They Got My Favorite Cake For My Birthday. This Is At Like 5 AM On My Birthday. Why
These rates of estrangement also varied according to race, gender, and sexuality. For example, white adult sons were more likely to be estranged from their mothers than daughters, and black sons and daughters were both more likely to be estranged from their fathers but less likely to be estranged from their mothers than white adult children.
Additionally, 32% of gay or lesbian adult children and 36% of bisexual adult children reported estrangement from their fathers compared with 22% of their heterosexual peers.
#27
I Am The Only Person In My Family To Empty Out The Lint Trap, Every Time I Pull The Drawer Thing Out I Am Baffled As To How A Fire Hasn't Erupted From Our Dryer Yet
#28
My Parents Are Visiting From Out Of Town And I Let My Mom Drive My Car. This Is How I Got It Back Today
The good thing is that of the adult children with a history of estrangement, 81% reconciled with their mother and 69% reconnected with their father.
Estrangement isn't necessarily forever.
#30
My Dad, Stepmom, And Stepsister Just Went On Vacation, Leaving Me With This Mess. I Reuse All My Bowls, Plates, Etc, So None Of This Mess Is Mine
#31
Came Home To My Mom Boiling Bleach To Clean A Pan Of Some Burnt Sugar, Creating A Highly Toxic Gas
#35
My Mom Threw All The Chocolate Waffles Outside For The Birds Thinking The Chocolate Was Mold
There was more it was a box of 32, only 2 were eaten.
#36
The Way My Brother Leaves The Computer Closet. He Just Dumps The Stuff He's Done With And Doesn't See A Reason To Move It Or Clean It Up
He once left a bowl of instant noodles for so long it began to grow mold.
#39
My Mom Opened My Package That I Waited 4 Weeks For And Was Really Excited To Open Saying "I Thought It Was Your Sister's Medication"
#41
My Sister Put A Password On My Computer But When I Asked Her For The Password, She Said She Forgot
#42
My Mom Popped All My Coffee Pods
My mom popped all my keurig coffee pods, almost the entire box’s worth because "they were too full and it was kinda annoying to close the drawer" I would have just put them back in the box they came in if she asked. They’ll all go stale now and she doesn’t see the problem.
#45
Family Said "We Made Dinner Already So Don't Stop Anywhere" And This Is The Piece Of Chicken They Left Me. Can For Scale
#46
I Was Working In The Icu During Christmas Dinner. My Family Sent Me Pictures Of The Feast And Were Saving Me Leftovers. Today I Received Those Leftovers
Not even a bun or a measly potato. I’ve missed a lot of family dinners in the past and usually they send me ham, turkey and plenty of sides. So it seems I was an afterthought this year. I know I should be grateful I got something but it still feels pretty bad.
#47
My Husband's Brother Was Staying With Us. I Made Halloween Candy Bags For A Party & Said All Leftovers Were For Me To Hand Out To My Customers The Next Day. This Is The 6th Empty Candy Bag I've Found That His Brother Swore He Didn't Eat
#50
I Wake Up Nearly Everyday To My Dad Still Not Knowing How To Throw Garbage In The Garbage Bin
#51
Gave My Younger Brother My Laptop So He Could Watch A Movie On Netflix, Here's How He Returned It An Hour Later
What's the worst is that this is a laptop I use to take notes during lectures at my Uni, and now I have to figure out whether to replace the screen or try to use it in this state.
#54
My Sister Used Up Half Of My Shower Gel For 1 Bath
This is the only shower gel that didn't irritate my skin and I’ve only used it 4 times, each time I don’t even use that much, just a squirt or two.
#55
The Amount Of Butter My Dad Left In The Fridge Wasn't Even Enough For A Single Slice Of Bread
#59
My Family Ate Most Of My Expensive Chocolate From Hawaii Before I Could Have More Than A Bite
#60
Gave My Netflix Password To My Two Little Cousins And They Changed My Previous Profiles To Their "Mom" And "Dad". My Family Members And I Are Considered As "Guest" In The New Profile They Created
#61
My Mom Complained That I Spend My Money On Things I Don't Need, But She Bought This "Lamp" For 3000€ Because It Was Designed By A Famous Artist
#62
My Mother Gets Mad At Me For Locking My Door To Keep My Little Brother Out Because Hes Likes To Break My Stuff. Yesterday I Decided To Give Him Another Chance And This Is How Im Thanked
#63
My Mom Thinks Bananas Like This One Have Already Gone Bad And Regularly Throws Them Out No Matter What I Tell Her
#64
What The Bathroom Looks Like Two Days After My Sister Comes Home From College. Everything In The Middle Is Hers, Except For The Black Electric Toothbrush
#65
My Kids (Age 3 & 5) Decided To Paint My Switch With Tattoo Ink
I had a home tattoo kit in my closet on the shelf (about 7 feet of the ground) don't know how they got to it. They stole the ink and rubbed it all over the house while my spouse was cooking lunch. (I was at work) But I'm pretty sure my switch is toast.
#66
My Little Brother Just Did This To Our $1000 TV. I'm Stressed, Pissed, And Am About To Pass Out
#68
Asked My Mom To Put The Remainining Salt In A Smaller Container, She Proceeds To Dump It All In The Sink, Apparently "There Was Only A Little Left". That's Almost 200g Of Salt That Could've Easily Lasted Me Another 2 Months
#75
My Sister Hits My Car Every Time She Backs Up Into This Spot In Front Of Our House As An Indicator To Stop Backing Up
#76
My Little Brother, In His Infinite Wisdom, Had Decided To Give The Almost A Thousand Buck TV A Good High Five
#77
Brother Went Over My Paint Work In The Bathroom While I Was Away
I have been renovating the bathroom at our family home, and went away on holidays for a week. Coming back today and my little brother went over my work, because he found the pyramids to be agressive, apparently he was blaming it for his difficulty to find sleep and turned it into an obsession. I’m really pissed.
First image is a photoshop preview, second image is my brother’s job on removing the pyramids.
#80
My Dad Cleaned My Cats Litter Box With My Spatula While I Was Out Of Town. The Actual Litter Scoop Was In The Small Closet (Pictured) In Plain Sight. He Didn’t Call Or Ask About The Location
#82
My Spouse Keeps Packing Boxes Upside Down. There Are Handles On The Side That Are Now Unusable
#86
I Left Some Sharpies In A Box On My Desk And I Came Home To Find My Sister Got Them And Colored All Over My $45 Key Caps
Im the one getting blamed for not putting them away where she couldn't get them even though my mother has been home all day watching them and didn't do anything about it.
#90
Let My Sister Borrow One Of My Favourite Books In Near Perfect Condition. This Is How I Got It Back
#92
My Brother's Visiting, I Made Foccacia & Told Him To Take A Bite While It's Warm And I Came Back To This Monstrosity
#93
This Is My Room, I Did Not Consent To All This Stuff In Here, And The Tree Has Made My Asthma Awful Yet My Mother Refuses To Get Rid Of It Because Of A Damn Party, Even Though Its My Room And Nobody Should Be In Here
#96
Parents Ordered Pizza For Us All Earlier. Was Told I'll Have A BBQ Chicken Waiting For Me After My Shift (Which Was Ten Hours Long). Just Got Home At 1 AM And This Is All That's Left
#97
My Brother Decided To "Re-Claim" My Autographed Pete The Cat Plush That Was Signed By Eric Litwin Back In 2011. I Hate Him
#98
This Packaged Was Delivered Right In Front Of My Garage Door. My Mom Didn’t See It And Ran Over It
#100
My Mom Parks So Close To Our Garage Bench That You Can Not Walk Through. 16.9 Oz Water Bottle For Perspective
#103
My Mom Left A Creek In My Window And It Started Raining While Nobody Was Home. My Poor Monitor
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