I (24F) recently came home for the long weekend (live out of state) and my teenage brother (16M) barely interacted with me, nor did he have any desire to. To give some context, we haven't been close since I went off to college, and did not keep in touch regularly, although I am trying to make more effort to Facetime him, text him etc. He used to respond back, but now am getting ignored. He didn't say hi when I came home (Decided to go to bed instead), stayed inside playing video games the whole time, and when my dad asked him to come out and socialize with the family - he said he was introverted and didn't feel like doing so. When I ask to spend time with him one on one, my parents insist on coming with me, and when I try to call him on the phone, my parents also insist on knowing everything we talked about, and getting me to parent him out of his video game addiction despite me living out of state and them being unable to put any controls on him (he has good grades and is involved in Boy Scouts outside of school, but is not the most motivated person). I think our relationship was damaged when I suggested to my parents that they put parental limits on his gaming, and they went and told him that I was the one who suggested that (without even putting on said controls) - making me seem like the bad guy! My parents say they are old and cannot handle stress induced issues anymore, which is why they don't put limits on him, claiming that he will "rebel."
Anyways, I am not sure what I should do and not do as a sister. Should I let the video games be a phase or should I intervene and let myself be the bad guy? Or should I play the role of the "soft spot" and just be there to support him?
TLDR: Due to variety of reasons - video games, parent interference - relationship with brother is strained.
Submitted September 08, 2022 at 02:34PM by inquisitive_panda https://ift.tt/DN4LfZb
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