I was a spiteful child...

@miamilady (4910)
United States
August 8, 2007 10:09am CST
When I was about 11 or 12 years old I did something very spiteful to my older sister... I'm the youngest of 4. Two sisters and a brother. Of course, the youngest always feels like he or she is always being left behind. My siblings are 6,7 and 13 years older than I am, which means they were going out with their friends and driving cars long before I was. Of course, as an adult, I now see things much differently, but as a child, I often felt left out. Well, one day my big sis promised me that she would take me rollerskating. It was a big deal to me. I was looking forward to it all day long. As the time neared, she called and cancelled on me. Apparently, something better came up. A date, I think. I was devastated. I had no life at the time, apparently! I was hurt and angry, so here's what I did. My big sis was big into momentos and scrapbooks. I got ahold of her scrapbook and methodically went to every picture of her and drew a mustache on her face. Even if it was a group picture. I found her, and drew a mustache. You know what? It felt good too! Luckily, we can laugh about it today. We have a good relationship and enjoy eachothers company. I don't consider myself a spiteful person as an adult. Revenger really does accomplish little, but as a kid, I guess I was quicker to react. Was that a horrible thing for me to do? Have you ever done such a thing?
9 people like this
17 responses
@TerryZ (22076)
• United States
8 Aug 07
LOL I think its pretty funny.LOL HaHaHaHa! As children we do seem to react alot differently. And thats a good thing. But I will agree seeking revenge can be very rewarding.LOL One time at the dinner table I didnt like what my little sister said to me so I threw mashed potatoes at her face.LOL That felt good too.LOL
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
8 Aug 07
lol Glad to know I'm not alone. Did you get into trouble?
2 people like this
@mamasan34 (6518)
• United States
8 Aug 07
Yeah that was pretty bad, but I think your right, as a youth we are quicker to react on our emotions than to think about it and weigh the outcome. It is good that you and your sister can now laugh about such things. I think we all were spiteful in our own way as children. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
3 people like this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
9 Aug 07
At least you didnt tear her out of the pictures thats what a real spitful person would have done. I was the oldest of 3. 5 years older than my brother, 21 years older than my sis I had 2 kids older than her by then and one 9 days younger than her and my daughter is 4 years younger than my si s and my youngest son is 8 years younger than my sis. Very mixed up there as mom had her at the change of life deal . I moved away later after she was born and of course mom made her a mommas girl as the oldest and away in a lot of different states I felt like the black sheep of the family and I am I do not conform to their way of thinking So I dont know if it worse to be first kid or the last kid
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
10 Aug 07
your welcome and your right I sure not sure what my sis and brother thought about their roll in the life cycle
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
9 Aug 07
I think wherever you end up in the birth order, you will have challenges. Oldest, youngest, middle. Each place has it's challenges. Thanks for your response.
@RobinJ (2501)
• Canada
8 Aug 07
Wow good discussion, I was the middle child and the fixer, if anything went wrong I felt it was my duty to fix it.even if it was not my fault or doing. I can remember taking the blame for my brother because of some small silly thing, and getting sent to my room, as a matter of fact I spent most of my childhood in my room. I grew up with the same mind set. I wore my heart on my sleeve and took the fall or blame to prevent others from being hurt.It took me years to understand that we need to let others be responsible for their actions, and by not allowing that to happen, they only become more irresponsible. I felt my middle name was responsible, and reliable. And it still is but only for my own actions.And sorry I can not sit back and laugh about it, but I can be ever so grateful that I did learn the lesson.I am a strong person, but not to the point that i could make every thing better for every one I knew.
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
8 Aug 07
That seems to be the role of this particular sister in our family. The fixer...The mediator. She's been stuck in the middle between my oldest sister and myself a number of times. I think she finally got tired of it (and rightly so). Apparenty we had both been confiding in her about our gripes about the other. She finally told us that we needed to work out our problems between ourselves. My oldest sister and I won't ever completely resolve our issues, but we maintain a relatively stable relationship. I am now more mindful of not dumping my complaints on my middle sister. I did manange to inherit the role of mediator for my parents. That isn't a fun role either. Sometimes I just have to take a step back and not be so involved. You're right, people do need to be held accountable for their own actions. Sometimes when we try to help, we end up enabling a person. Sometimes it's hard to fight that urge to help. Helping can be a good thing but sometimes we need to let a person figure thingsout for themselves. Thanks for your response.
2 people like this
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
9 Aug 07
When I was a child i was a mean little brat,everyone saw me as a brat except my mother,she thought i was sweet,but i wasn't.I used to torment my poor cousin when they came to visit...Thank God i was the baby in th family and the other kids were bigger,they wasn't around much for me to be mean too haha,they were dating and going out with their friends so i suppose you and i were alike in that ....children are cruel sometimes and they can be very spiteful.I use to love to pinch people,well I had this uncle,my mothers brother and he was wise to me,so one day i pinched him and and Boy was I sorry.He was a grown man and he grabbed a big piece of my arm and gave me a huge pinch and tristed it,You know i never pinched him again...Haha..We still laugh about that.Yes children do things for different reasons,and to you that was a big thing..I have grown up to be a very compassionte and nice person as Im sure you are..Its all the little things we do that make memories.When I think back on some things,yes i am sorry and i regret being a brat..When people tease me about it now i just tell them "well i was a bad kid" blame my mother she should have spanked my hinney..This discussion brought back some memories to me( funny)..Guess what though! I got paid back,big time..I got married and had 5 children and my son was just like i was and he use to be so mean and so i got back everything i put out through him...yes it was a bad thing to do but you were a kid and thats the way kids see things...Don't let it bother you ...
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
10 Aug 07
My Mom was the type of Mom that never saw anything wrong in her kids,she had to know i was mean, but if anyone said anything i could lie and say i didn't do it,even though i was guilty as sin and she believed me...My kids ,all 5 were a holy terrior,ha ha ..they were all real close in age and they would get in trouble in bunches..I just sent them to their room ...I knew i deserved them because it was pay back haha.But thank god they all grew up to be great people and i am very close to them all,but trust me i do know their little ways....
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
9 Aug 07
Thanks for your response. You made me laugh. Not too many people will admit that they were bratt's as kids. It is funny how we get payback when we have our own children, isn't it? Did you handle your son differently than your mother handled you?
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
9 Aug 07
I never did anything like that...lol. You must have been really ticked off...it's good that the two of you can laugh about it now. My cousin, feeling unloved at one time, went through her mother's photo box and took all of the photos of herself out and burned them. From infant on up. She was about 12 at the time. Her mother was furious since they could not be replaced. AT PEACE WITHIN
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
9 Aug 07
I understand that feeling. I don't know if it is something that everyone experiences at one time or another, or if it's more common among "youngest siblins. My son (the youngest of two) has voiced the same feeling. I can understand your friends motivation and how she expressed it, but it is a shame that all those pictures were lost.
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
9 Aug 07
sorry...your cousin, not friend.
@vankae (447)
• United States
8 Aug 07
I understand your feeling to the utmost, I the youngest of 7 children, I always felt left out and feel like i had to take seconds, actually like the black sheep, i wrote my mom a letter at 8 yrs old, and my sister and brothers laughed at me, needless to say 40 yr later, i still feel like this, and I'm still treated like this, which cause alot of anger it my life, but I have learn to let go, I can't change them, I can only change me. I would like to do more research on the baby in the family. I feel to that is a lot of presure on the baby in a family, and you have to get over the control issue that everyone want to have.
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
8 Aug 07
I had to distance myself from them for a while. Sometimes I still do that. I pretty much only have problems with one of my sisters. I still love her, but sometimes we clash and I have to step back for a while. Good luck.
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
8 Aug 07
I came from an abusive family upbringing. My dad physically, mentally, verbally and emotionally abused me as a child. I think I was about 8 or so when I got really mad. I grabbed the family photo album and burnt the eyes out of every picture. Myself, my siblings and my parents as well had their eyes burnt out of the photos. I still have a group photo of me and my siblings in which the yes were burnt out by me. I have no idea why I did this to ALL family member photos not just dads but it was done and it felt good at the time. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
8 Aug 07
wow. Thanks for sharing. It sounds like you had a lot of pent up hostility. I'm glad to see that you are now a positive person.
• United States
12 Aug 07
I can't relate to being a spiteful child, but I was a spoiled child, being the youngest! I had 2 older sisters, and they both frequently took me ON dates with them! Sometimes they would even let me bring my friends. Those were awesome times. I will NEVER forget them!
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
9 Aug 07
Revenge has always been and still is one of my childish weaknesses. What makes it so bad is that it has always seemed to come natural for me. Whenever some one does something hurtful to me, my first thought is, how can I get them back for what they have done. Even to people I really care about. Something inside of me wont seem to understand that just because it hurt me, doesn't mean the person did it on purpose. I know that I have trust issues do to abuse, but I work to see things from the other persons point of view and if I can't, then I will talk to someone and have them help me. This usually works because they see things from a different perspective than I do. Sometimes though, I start to feel like everyone is conspiring against me and that is when I get to the point when I have no choice but to pray.
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
9 Aug 07
Thanks for sharing. It's good that you are at least aware of the problem and you do your best to overcome it. I certainly have my flaws. I do always try to remember that everyone has a different perspective on things. People aren't always right or wrong, they are just seeing things from a different perspective. You seem like a great person, from what I can see. I'd just have to remember not to hurt you. ;-) If I did, I'd run and hide afterwards. lol
1 person likes this
@mummymo (23706)
8 Aug 07
Lol - I used to do some truly horrific things too sweets - I was the baby and the next youngest was 8 years older than me , so I was picked on too! Glad you and your sister are close and can laugh about it now - that is good! I think being the youngest you have to think about ways of getting revenge - you weren't spiteful so much as creative! xxx
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
8 Aug 07
Creative...yeahhhh. That's it! I like it! Thanks for your response.
• United States
8 Aug 07
I am one of two, my sister is 7 and a half years older than me. We where pretty much opposites in every way. She was spiteful mean and selfish growing up and really hasen't changed a great deal. I never did anything to her that would be considered spiteful, but she sure got me a few times. After my parents passed away my sister and I have basically ceased to bother with each other. She lives on an entirely different plane than I do and rather than have constant problems we have just left each other alone.
@miamilady (4910)
• United States
8 Aug 07
I'm sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, sometimes we can't reconcile with our relatives. My oldest sister and I have some issues. Sometimes my mother fears that we will go completely seperate ways once she is gone. I don't think it will come to that, but I have realized that there are some issues that we will never see eye to eye on. Luckily we do have some things in common, so we do have a fairly decent relationship. This is not the same sister that I'm referring to in the original post.
@gradyslady (4054)
• United States
18 Sep 07
Wow, I would have been so angry. I love my scrapbooks and if anyone would ever do anything like that I would flip out and go off the handle! Pictures and stuff like that are all I have of some of my friends, they passed away. So I might have been a little harsh if that was me.
@cream97 (29086)
• United States
27 Aug 10
Hi, miamilady. No. I have never done anything like this before. But, I have done something that was very spiteful though. I was just so angry at my mother-in-law that I tore up all of her photos in her photo album. My husband had already cleaned up the room that had her photo album in it. And, I got a hold of it and I tore up all of her pictures of her and her family. I was just that pissed off with her. It was very mean to do, but I did it because I was so hurt and mad at how she has treated me throughout the years before and after my marriage to her son.
@Calais (10893)
• Australia
9 Aug 07
Oh my goodness...Thats so bad , yet so funny at the time...I cannot think of anything specific, my brothers and I were always doing something to each other..
• Canada
9 Aug 07
I was like that as a child to but I was always getting in trouble because I was the oldest so whenever anything happened I got in trouble for it weather I was even there when it happened or not so to get back at my sister , a friend and I used to tie her to a chair when my mohter and father were not around and would leave her there , one tie we tied her to a swing set as well . Looking back on it today we still talk about it and I always tell her she really deserved it as she used to get me in trouble for absolutely everything . If I had a friend over and she wanted to play with us and I would tell her she would have to wait a minute she would get us in trouble somehow . She gave all her dolls the chicken pox with markers one time and tried to say my cousin and I did it because we were doing our homework and wouldn't play with her . As an adult I wouldn't say I am revengeful either but I defintiely was as a child . My sister and I usually joke about it as well and don't have hard feelings about it .
9 Aug 07
My sister is 2 years younger than me and we are just like chalk and cheese. There are quite a few spiteful things we used to do to each other as kids. I think the most memorable was when I took all the little cuddly animals that her boyfriend bought her and proceeded to try and cut the heads off. It was actually quite difficult and I started to feel a bit guilty so I left a large seal nearly decapitated and just cut the throats of the others so that I could replace them and she would not know the difference but I would. Everybody said we would grow out of fighting but we never did and there are still occasions where we are both spiteful although we live in different counties so it is generally limited to arguments.