Stepmom forced neglected teen to pen a card for dad’s birthday, so he listed each time he was ignored

A neglected teenager (u/kaydzxyn) was forced by his stepmother to write a card and pick out some gifts for his dad's 50th birthday, so he listed all the times he had ignored him for his stepchildren. The boy, 17, shared the story on Reddit on October 27, 2025.

The boy grew up with his father and never knew his real mom. "My dad never gave me an answer about what happened to her," he said. The boy was 7 when his dad started dating his stepmom, and slowly, he started ignoring his son for her and her kids. In fact, his father signed him up to play football, but the boy was kicked off the team because he missed six matches. The reason? Well, his father didn't take him because he was busy driving his then-girlfriend's kids to their activities. "Then he had me in karate. I went for a month, and then he didn't take me for two months. They told him I couldn't go back if I wasn't going to be there every week because there was no way for me to learn," he recalled.

The boy had even asked his dad to put him in art classes, but as usual, his father kept neglecting him. For years, the man prioritized his wife and stepchildren over his own kid, and thus, the boy couldn't learn anything, whether it was basketball, swimming, or dancing. "Instead of being at something for me, I had to sit in the car or watch his wife's kids do their stuff. The kid he dropped off last is the one he stayed to watch or parked outside the activity. And they had loads of activities," he said. His dad and his wife moved in together when he was 14, and even refused to pay for him for anything. "I hold it against him. And yeah, I tried to talk to him in a calm and mature way, but he brushed me off. So I resented him more for it," the boy said. 

So when his stepmom asked him to arrange for gifts and write his dad a letter for his birthday, he decided to let his anger out. The boy listed every time he missed extracurricular activities because of his stepsiblings. "I knew it was going to piss him and his wife off, but I kept track of that stuff, and it has always bothered me because he became such a lazy dad to me when he started dating his wife," he said. Upon receiving the 'gift', his father and his wife were obviously annoyed, and his stepmom even said it was very arrogant of him to do something like that. "I gave him the list, and they made a big deal out of it. But instead of giving me the cold shoulder, they decided to bring it up multiple times since and they've bitched so much that I'm tired of hearing it," the boy said. He even told them that he didn't care about his dad's birthday or his feelings.

When a child is neglected, especially by their parents, they feel a wide range of negative emotions. Emphasizing it, Psychologist Jonice Webb said, "People with childhood emotional neglect, which I call CEN, do not... It's not like everyone develops a comorbid disorder. I've seen lots of CEN people who don't have any history of diagnosis and don't qualify for one when I see them. But nevertheless, they're struggling in various ways, but it does make you more prone to both depression and anxiety." The 17-year-old boy also grew up being neglected by the only parent he knew, and thus couldn't love or respect his dad like other kids. 

The teenager shared his story online and received overwhelming support on Reddit. In fact, almost everybody suggested that he must start saving money so he could move out and start living independently. For instance, u/high_ongod2467 commented, "NTA I’m sorry, OP. This sounds heartbreaking. Your father is incredibly selfish… If you haven’t already started, please start saving money to move out once you turn 18. I don’t think your father will support you financially, looking at his streak."

Similarly, u/miyuki_m wrote, "NTA. You gave him the gift of telling him why he will never hear from you again after you become financially independent.  Study your a** off so you can get a scholarship or decide on a career path that will allow you to become financially secure and independent quickly. Keep your important documents and money safe in places they can't access. Make a plan." 

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