Teen Decides to Eat at His Favorite Restaurant for His Birthday. His Parents Say He Should’ve Catered to His Brother

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A teen seeks support from the Reddit community following a birthday dinner that sparked family tension and exposed deeper issues of favoritism.

In a post, the 16-year-old explains how what should have been a joyful celebration turned into yet another reminder of how his family dynamics leave him feeling second best.

“My parents never let me eat at my favorite restaurant when we celebrate my birthday or other stuff,” he writes. “My brother doesn’t like the food there and they say any celebration needs to include stuff we all like.”

But he points out a double standard that’s hard to ignore. “We always eat at his favorite place,” he says, even though it’s a “really small pizza shop” where the food is, in his words, “awful.”

“I should like some of the stuff but it tastes so gross,” he continues. “I’m not the only person who thinks so either but since my brother loves it they don’t care if I hate the food there.”

There have been times when he’s had nothing but water during meals there. On other occasions, he’s forced himself to eat and ended up feeling sick afterward.

His dad even gets stomach issues from the food, but still goes along with it to please his younger son. Meanwhile, none of the 16-year-old’s top choices are ever seriously considered — even on his birthday.

“They always go with choices I’m just okay with because my brother likes them,” he shares. “I have tried telling them I don’t like those restaurants anymore and they say I can find something but none of my top five places work for my brother.”

Meals out only happen for special occasions like birthdays, graduations or really good report cards. Still, even on those rare outings, the family always defaults to places that cater to his brother’s preferences.

So when his grandparents came to visit in June, right around his birthday, he saw a rare opportunity to actually celebrate his way. They asked him privately where he wanted to go, and he didn’t hesitate.

“I told them about the Thai place that’s my favorite ever,” he writes. His grandparents, well aware of how overlooked he usually is, told him his parents “couldn’t dictate to them.”

When the big day came, the grandparents surprised the rest of the family by announcing they’d be eating at the Thai restaurant, taking full credit for the choice. “They said they heard us talk about that place before and knew it was my favorite and how they wanted to surprise me,” he says.

The teen was thrilled and described the night as a rare moment of joy. “It was the best meal out I had with my family in forever,” he adds.

But his 14-year-old brother sulked the entire time. “He insulted the food, the restaurant and the staff the whole night,” he says. The grandparents stood up for him and scolded his parents for allowing the behavior. That only escalated things into a fight between the adults at the table.

Despite the chaos, he says he was just happy to enjoy a meal he genuinely loved. But the joy was short-lived.

Later, his parents confronted him and said they knew he was the one who chose the restaurant, even though his grandparents had claimed responsibility. “They told me I knew my brother didn’t like it,” he recalls.

He pushed back, reminding them that he’s expected to go along with his brother’s favorites all the time. “He knows I don’t like his favorite but [I have] to go there,” he told them.

That didn’t sit well with his parents. “They told me not to turn it back on him, that I’m 16 and that’s old enough to know better,” he says. They claimed part of being a good host is catering to your guests. But OP told them, “He wasn’t really my guest though,” which only made them more upset.

Since then, the issue hasn’t been dropped. His parents have brought it up several times and have even had more arguments with the grandparents because of it.

Meanwhile, his brother has been lashing out in petty and childish ways. “He threw water all over me and tried to make me eat mushrooms (ick),” he writes.

The parents didn’t discipline his brother for those actions. Instead, they blamed him, saying, “It was my fault for the stunt with the restaurant.”

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He ends the post wondering if he was wrong for choosing his favorite place after so many years of being denied that simple joy. The reaction from readers makes it clear they don’t think so.

“Good for your grandparents,” one commenter writes. “Also, sounds like your parents are grooming a monster AH Golden Child.”

He responds that it’s not the first time his brother’s behavior has caused tension with the rest of the family. “They pissed off dad’s side a couple of years ago when we all went to this really nice restaurant and he was loudly insulting the restaurant and the food.”

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