In the realm of family dynamics, the decision to disown a child is an unfathomable choice that can leave lasting scars on all parties involved. This article delves into the intricate web of emotions, circumstances, and difficult decisions that lead parents to sever ties with their own flesh and blood.
All stories have been edited for clarity.
Lost In A Game
“Growing up in a small suburban town, my family seemed like any other. My older brother has always been a dreamer and loves playing video games. As my brother got older and finished high school, he would spend most of his days locked away in his room gaming. Growing tired of his laziness, our parents inquired about what exactly my brother planned to do with his life. When my brother told my parents he wanted to play video games professionally, they were not pleased and told him he either had to start going to the community college or get a job immediately. That was when my brother started going to school online.
As my brother spent more and more time streaming video games, his grades began to slip. This upset my parents deeply, but they remained patient with my brother and kept encouraging him even though he was more concerned about his video game live-streaming hobby that he barely got views for anyway.
One fateful day, my mother received a phone call from the bank asking her to verify a series of ‘suspicious charges’. Alarmed, both of my parents went to a branch the next morning where they went over their bank statements with a teller. Now my parents didn’t have a whole lot of money, but we lived comfortably because of their strict budgeting. So imagine the horror when they discovered that nearly ten-thousand dollars had slowly been depleted from their savings over the course of a year. All of the purchases were from a debit card that my parents had absolutely no recollection of setting up because they’re old school and only use checks.
My father, furious, demanded to know why no bank statements had been sent to them so they could have been caught sooner. That’s when the teller explained that my parents had signed up for online banking months ago and they would have been sent to their emails, something my parents don’t know how to use either. The debit card purchases were all labeled as online purchases for a merchant that was all too familiar. It was then the email that was easily traced back to my brother who had ordered the debit card after using my father’s information to sign up for online banking. My brother had not only neglected his responsibilities but had also been spending an exorbitant amount of our family’s hard-earned savings on in-game purchases. The revelation struck a deep, painful blow to my parents’ hearts.
Filled with an overwhelming sense of betrayal, my parents confronted my brother. Even after seeing the statements with the name of the game displayed over and over again, my brother denied it and said that my parents must have been ‘hacked.’ Of course, my parents called him on his lies. It was hard to believe that my brother could care less about getting good grades but he was confident enough to steal my father’s identity to steal from them.
It was my father who threatened to press charges against my brother, but my mother talked him out of it. Instead, my parents gave him a month to move out. Obviously this made my brother freak out. He promised to get a job to pay the money back, but my parents were long past that. My brother then decided to move in with a buddy of his in some apartment across town. It was hard seeing my family split up the way it did but I had never seen my father so angry and disappointed. Years later, my parents were never able to recover the money and my brother is trying to find a new place because his roommate is getting married soon. I’m in my sophomore year of college as I write this. My parents never invite my brother over for the holidays and don’t even call him on his birthday. When I ask my brother why he doesn’t try to apologize, he says it’s because our parents never ‘believed’ in him and I’ll always be their favorite so why bother.
He has some serious issues. Thankfully, he did finally get a job at a warehouse, but my brother still plays video games most of the time when he’s not working in hopes of becoming a famous streamer but it still hasn’t happened. He has this hope that he can raise the money he stole from our parents by playing video games, but I’m not sure how it will work if he spends his paycheck on the same in game purchases that ruined his relationship with them in the first place.”
“I Hope He Gets The Help He Needs”
“As a mother, I never imagined that I would have to make the difficult decision to cut off my own son from my life. He constantly relied on me for financial support, never taking responsibility for his own actions or seeking a path of independence. He never finished school, got kicked out of the military for failing a drug test, and is content with just scraping by.
To make matters worse, my son began to display verbally abusive behavior towards my daughter-in-law and their four young children. He would berate her in front of me and their innocent kids. Witnessing the impact this had on my daughter-in-law and grandchildren was unbearable. I couldn’t stand idly by and watch them suffer.
My daughter-in-law and I became close during our time together. When she announced that she was thinking of leaving my son, I didn’t blame her. I told her if she needed anything I was there for her. I even started giving her the money instead of my son after she told me he was using it to buy drugs and alcohol. Eventually, things took a turn for the worst when my son was arrested after a domestic dispute got out of hand and he sent her to the emergency room. I had to pick up the kids who were forever traumatized after the events.
Thankfully, my daughter-in-law’s injuries were not too serious, but she apologized several times for my son facing charges. I told her it was the right thing to do. I was so disappointed in my son. After numerous attempts to reason with my son and encourage him to seek help, I realized that the only way to protect my daughter-in-law and grandchildren was to sever ties with him. It was a heart-wrenching decision, but I knew that their well-being had to come first. I refused to bail him out after he called me for help. He was later convicted of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Cutting off my son was not an easy process. It involved setting clear boundaries and sticking to them, despite the emotional turmoil it caused. I sought therapy to cope with the guilt and grief that overwhelmed me. My daughter-in-law and grandchildren, although initially shocked, eventually began to heal and find peace away from his toxic influence.
In time, I hope my son finds the help he needs to overcome his demons and become a better person. But until then, I will continue to prioritize the well-being of my daughter-in-law and grandchildren.”
“Social Media Ruined Our Relationship”
“After my wife died of cervical cancer, I was left to raise my two daughters alone. Once my girls got older they both got really into social media, which was something I rarely participated in. My youngest daughter was more serious about it than the other, but I always interfered when I saw that it was getting in the way of her education.
When my daughter started getting more and more attention, she became obsessed with the validation of strangers and started vlogging.She started sharing extremely personal videos from her mother’s final days on her deathbed. She would play sad music over the old videos and photos or make videos of her crying about how much she missed her.
When other relatives showed me the videos and social media posts it bothered me, but I was told that it was just how kids ‘expressed themselves’ nowadays. So, I told my daughter to just be more mindful about the things she posted. I thought the conversation was normal, but soon I realized that there was something seriously wrong with my daughter.
Eventually I started dating again. I know this must have been hard on my daughters, but instead of talking to me about it, my youngest daughter made a vague social media post about me and accused me of never loving their mother. When my sister sent me a screenshot of the post, I was livid. I confronted my daughter, only to have her blow up on me and accuse me of being too controlling over what she chose to do on social media. We had a huge argument, which she then decided to over-exaggerate on social media. Even my oldest daughter told my youngest she was making a fool of herself in front of strangers online, but she simply brushed her off and kept making the fabricated content that made me look like the bad guy.
The lies about me and the family started getting worse. She made vlogs accusing us of not ‘accepting her’ for the way that she was. For the record, I never cared who my daughter dated as long as they respected her. But, having a good father wasn’t trendy, so my daughter lied about the way she was raised just for clout. It felt like a sudden storm had engulfed my life when her fabricated stories of abuse began to circulate. My heart shattered as friends, family, and even acquaintances turned their backs on me, unable to comprehend the magnitude of her deceit. The weight of her lies crushed me, tarnishing my reputation and tarnishing the love I once held for her.
In disbelief and desperation, I tried to reason with her privately, begging her to retract her false claims and understand the consequences of her actions. But she remained steadfast, intoxicated by the attention and followers her falsehoods brought her. My pleas fell on deaf ears, leaving me with no choice but to sever ties with my own daughter. If she wanted a selfish and abusive dad, she could continue to make him up because I was done.
She eventually went off to college and blocked me on social media. My youngest daughter never comes around on holidays or even calls because she has convinced herself that I’m a terrible and deadbeat father. After I stopped trying to make amends, it only gave her more fuel for her social media posts.
I still love her, but eventually everything is going to come crashing down for her, and I won’t be the one to pick up the pieces.”