Katharina Buczek
This young girl is just seventeen-years-old. But, from an early age, her parents always viewed her as a third adult in the house and expected her to care for her younger sister.
Her sister is only three years younger than her and does not have any developmental or behavioral disabilities. But, apparently, that was the dynamic that was set up in her household.
For example, every day after school, she would have to feed and watch her sister while her mother ran in and out of the house. Then, whenever her sister was upset, she was ordered to play with her.
“She would miss me a lot, and my parents would insist I dedicate my time to her once I was home,” she recalled.
“And when we would go out as a family, and she wanted something, they would get it for her. But I would be told to act my age if I wanted something.”
On top of that, her sister was allowed to hang out with her friends as much as she wanted. Her sister would also be allowed to go to sleepovers and get these amazing birthday parties– none of which she was ever given.
In fact, there were even times during her childhood when her parents would take only her sister to go on these fun and experiential outings. And in the meantime, she was left at home.
So, over time, she started to resent both her parents and her sister. Then, at age fifteen, she began to withdraw from them.
“I kept to myself, I didn’t engage in the ‘family,’ I took punishments rather than do chores since none were assigned to my sister. And my parents hated that I wouldn’t be the little housekeeper they wanted,” she explained.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
