24/11/2025
Many Families Don’t Realize: Parents Can Sometimes Create Anger Among Their Own Children
Whenever this topic is raised, most people ask, “How can parents ever cause conflict between their children?”
But as someone who works in psychological counselling, my answer is clear: Yes, it happens—often unintentionally.
Here are some common parenting behaviours that gradually create resentment among siblings:
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🔹 Unequal Treatment
Treating children differently—“He’s younger,” “She deserves it more,” etc.—leads to comparison, jealousy and long-term resentment.
🔹 Unfair Distribution of Property
Parents are not obligated to give property to their children.
But if they do, giving it unfairly or based on personal preference leads to deep emotional wounds and long-lasting family conflict.
🔹 Making Complaints to Gain Attention
Some parents, especially as they age, make unnecessary or exaggerated complaints about one child to another.
This slowly damages sibling relationships until they eventually stop communicating.
🔹 Involving In-Laws & Grandchildren
Blaming one child or favouring another through the influence of in-laws or grandchildren creates division—while the parents appear “innocent,” and siblings drift apart.
🔹 Prioritising Extended Family Over Their Own Children
When parents place siblings (aunts, uncles, cousins) above their own household and ignore the mistreatment their children face, the psychological impact can be significant.
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These behaviours often happen unintentionally.
But the result is painful: siblings become distant, families break apart, and both parents and children end up emotionally hurt.
Many may resist this truth, but these patterns are real—and more common than we think.
