Man applauded for banning daughter from family home for the Christmas holidays

A parent has revealed he's been forced to ban his daughter from the family home for Christmas after she revealed she couldn't be nice to her little brother, and people are applauding his tough decision

Siblings often bicker and fight, it’s all part of growing up and learning boundaries, sharing, and more. However, one dad has revealed that he’s been forced to ban his daughter from her family home for the Christmas holidays because she can’t be nice to her younger brother.

His decision has not gone down well and he’s now wondering if he overreacted. Sharing the situation on social media, the 49-year-old dad of three explained that his eldest child, a daughter called *Sydney, 19, has never gotten along with her brother *Lucas, 16.

He wrote: “When Sydney and I are one on one, she’s a great kid. She's bright, she's funny, she sets goals and works hard to meet them. I love her very much, and have done my best to support her. She currently attends college about an hour from our home, which my wife and I pay for, along with her housing and everything.

“However, Sydney is just awful to her brother, Lucas, and pretty much always has been. She picks on him constantly, calls him stupid, belittles his accomplishments, and is just generally mean.”

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The dad explained that he and his wife have tried everything over the years to fix the issues, including counseling for Sydney and Lucas separately, and family counseling for everyone. He went on: “We've tried any consequence/incentive we could think of, and finally we just tried to keep them separate as much as possible.”

The dad admitted that he and his wife hoped Sydney would learn to ignore Lucas if she couldn’t get on with him but it that hasn’t happened. He stated that at Thanksgiving when Sydney came home from college, everything kicked off again.

He wrote: “She immediately started teasing Lucas about his clothes, told him he'd never get into a good college, and generally took every opportunity to pick a fight. It was exhausting.”

With the recent holiday experience in mind, the dad decided to make things perfectly clear and give his daughter a choice. He went on: “Sydney is planning on coming home for two weeks at Christmas but she lives in an apartment and doesn't have to come home like she did when she lived in the dorms.

“I told her that if she can't be kind to, or failing that at least ignore, her brother then she can't come home. I think she thought I was joking at first and kind of laughed and said something about not being able to promise that, and I said that's fine, don't come home then.

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“I've made it clear she's welcome any time she can act civilly with her family, and I'm not threatening to cut her off financially in any way. Now that she's an adult with her own living space, I don't think Lucas should have to deal with her anymore, and he's still living under our roof.”

Needless to say, the dad’s decision has not gone down well with his daughter who he admitted is very angry with him. He went on: “Sydney says she's never coming home again, and my wife also thinks I'm being too harsh, and that maybe we should've just told her she couldn't stay as long so Lucas can still enjoy his break.”

After reading the Reddit post people rushed to assure the dad he wasn’t in the wrong. One person wrote: “You aren't forbidding her from coming home, you're just insisting that she refrain from bullying her brother or not come home. She is choosing not to come home rather than not be a bully.”

“She is welcome home if she doesn’t attack her brother… she is choosing to be a bully and is lashing out because you are done tolerating it. I’m shocked mum isn’t on the same page. The 16-year-old deserves his home to be a safe space.. why is her bad behavior acceptable and defended by mum?,” wondered someone else.

And a third person added: “This is exactly it. You told her she could come home as long as she’s nice to her brother. She would rather isolate herself and throw a tantrum than even attempt to treat him respectfully. That’s not your fault, that’s a character flaw for her to work out with herself. Maybe consider asking her why bullying her brother is more important to her than being welcome in the family home.”

*Sydney and Lucas's names have been changed to protect their identities

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