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.
Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.
#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.
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."
Credits: sophlog
#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.
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.
Credits: definitelyciscyrus
#3 My Entire Family Wanted A Puppy But Im The Only One Who Takes Care Of Him
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.
Credits: p4755166
#4 I'm 21, Single, Nowhere Near Having A Baby, Yet My Mum Is Still Hopeful For Grandkids
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.
Credits: Mhol246
#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.
Repressing painful or confusing emotions is a popular coping strategy within dysfunctional families. Children witness their parents numbing themselves with alcohol, drugs, food, p**nography, 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.
Credits: RegularTemporary2707
#6 Dad Borrowed My Tablet, Sat On It And Then Returned It Like This
"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."
Credits: skids01reddit
#7 Gone For Two Weeks. My Husband Piled His Clothes By The Washer Instead Of Doing His Own Laundry
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.
Credits: Own-Anteater5996
#8 My Mom Turned Off The Internet So I Could Focus On My Online Classes
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.
Credits: Scrilamarilaburito
#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.
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.
Credits: cd_unoxx
#10 My Mom Kindly Promised She Would Maintain My Car While I Was Away Temporarily. She Didn't And Now It Has A D**d Battery And A Moldy Interior
Credits: graycegal
#11 My Sister Plucked Out Her Knee Hairs Because They're "Too Hard To Shave" And Left Them On My Desk
Credits: lohikeittoo
#12 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.
Credits: Yussso
#13 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
Credits: Clear_Hope
#14 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.
Credits: Fentydior
#15 My Dads Family Is Staying With Us And Decided To Scratch Up All Our New Pots And Pans
Credits: BebeUnicorn123
#16 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
Credits: sirlardsalot
#17 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
Credits: MyDearIcarus
#18 Dad Went On A Rage Mid Saturday Night
Credits: Avarageupvoter
#19 My Sister Saying "Who Cares? Can You Still Drive The Truck!?" To Her Bag Scratching Up The Glove Box Of My Car
Credits: the0utc4st
#20 My Dad Washes His Socks In Cups We Drink Coffee From. He Does This Every Night, With Dish Soap.
Credits: flippin_
#21 Why You Should Never Let Your Little Brother Play With Your Computer
Credits: Ok_Designer3103
#22 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.
Credits: SquishyTale
#23 Family Said They Got My Favorite Cake For My Birthday. This Is At Like 5 AM On My Birthday. Why
Credits: Naborsx21
#24 Specifically Told My Sister Not To Put The Cast Iron In The Dishwasher And Two Days Later
Credits: prolxy
#25 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
Credits: Educational-Yard8172
#26 My Parents Are Visiting From Out Of Town And I Let My Mom Drive My Car. This Is How I Got It Back Today
Credits: RickCedWhat
#27 My Father Refuses To Wear A Seatbelt
Credits: obolikus
#28 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
Credits: Bro---really
#29 Came Home To My Mom Boiling Bleach To Clean A Pan Of Some Burnt Sugar, Creating A Highly Toxic Gas
Credits: willgrowlikeamen
#30 My Family Are Psychos
Credits: bob-eater-of-pizza
#31 Step-Dad Ate My Only Food I Had For Lunch At Work
Credits: Living_Variation316
#32 Mom Took My Monitor
Credits: Walnutclout
#33 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.
Credits: User
#34 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.
Credits: LuzelenaOfLove
#35 Sister Came To Visit And Decided To Clean My Nonstick Pan
Credits: Zestyclose-Union4060
#36 My Mom Is A Hoarder
Credits: caboose8808
#37 This Is What My Little Brother Does Whenever He Gets Mad At Us
Credits: Wayto_obsessed
#38 My Sister Put A Password On My Computer But When I Asked Her For The Password, She Said She Forgot
Credits: fried-7eleven
#39 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.
Credits: SageHowlter
#40 Baked A Cake For My Parent's Anniversary And My Brother Did This
Credits: TGOAO
#41 Mom Used My Rice Cooker And Said I Needed To Clean It Up
Credits: LasagnaIsItalianCake
#42 Family Said "We Made Dinner Already So Don't Stop Anywhere" And This Is The Piece Of Chicken They Left Me. Can For Scale
Credits: ineedatherapist13
#43 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.
Credits: miller94
#44 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
Credits: Rainbow62993
#45 My Sister "Only Wanted The Parts With Pineapple On It". I Truly Don't Understand
Credits: skatebed
#46 My Dad Kept Trying To Ring Me Despite Me Telling Him I Was In Class
Credits: AdVaanced77
#47 I Wake Up Nearly Everyday To My Dad Still Not Knowing How To Throw Garbage In The Garbage Bin
Credits: Succrative
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