Older Siblings Reveal The Worst Rules They Had To Follow That Their Younger Siblings Avoided

Donn Saylor
Updated October 3, 2018 21.2K views17 items

Being an older sibling is not without its advantages. Even your slightest milestones are documented, you never have to suffer the indignities of hand-me-downs, and you get to act as a third parent when additional authority figures are needed.

But younger siblings get to break more rules. Parents sometimes get lenient with second and third children; enforcing strict mandates after the first kid gets exhausting.

Older siblings usually notice the injustices, too, and they describe the situations on Reddit. They usually know their parents don't love their siblings more, but it's still tricky to accept younger siblings' seemingly easier way of life.

Photo: user uploaded image

  • You Just Can't Win…

    From Redditor /u/SpatialBreak:

    I've got a couple brothers and a couple sisters; I only live with one brother though. Growing up, when I did something bad, I'd get punished by being locked in my room because "I was the oldest and needed to set an example." While my brother would get away with a lot of the things I did. If seven-year-old me yelled at five-year-old him for pinching me, I'd get in trouble and sent to my room for three days; then if I pinched him after my grounding was over and he yelled at me, I'd get in trouble for pinching him and be grounded again.

  • You Don't Get A Social Life

    From a former Redditor:

    When I had boyfriends over, I had to leave the door open, they had to leave at a certain time, etc. When my (younger) brother started dating, he could keep the door closed and there was no real "curfew" for him.

  • You Always Have To Share

    From a former Redditor:

    Oldest here. Had to constantly fight for perks like bedtime or pocket money. Younger sister got all that automatically. Unlike her, I was also always expected to share and be a role model.

  • You Get Blamed For Everything 

    From Redditor /u/fluteoptional:

    I'm a twin. We have a younger brother. We get blamed for everything and he is definitely the favorite. Mom uses the excuse that my twin and I "have each other" and "He's the only boy" as an excuse for this.
     

  • You Get The Strictest Rules About Drinking

    From Redditor /u/TheClayrooAtWork:

    I'm the [oldest] of two boys, about three years apart. When I was 17, my buddy had brought over a 26-ounce bottle of vodka, which we didn't end up getting into, so I hid it. Well my mom found it and gave me sh*t and dumped an entire unopened bottle of vodka down the drain. My mom then proceeded to buy my brother alcohol when he was 16 because "he's gonna get it anyway."

  • You Have To Wait Longer For Less Freedoms

    From Redditor /u/SpeckledCollie:

    I think I was a practice-run child. I had to get a job to pay for driving lessons, my sister got given driving lessons and a car. I had to wait to get my first mobile phone at 13. My sister got one at 11. I wasn't allowed boys in my room until I was 18 - my sister's boyfriend slept over in her bed since they got together.