WIBTA For Not Allowing My Younger Brother To Attend His Sports Day?
I (20F) have a younger brother (8M) whose academics and behavior have steadily declined. He wasn’t like this before, but the more time he spent on his phone/tablet, the worse he became—stubborn, tantrums when electronics were taken, refusal to socialize, typical “iPad kid” traits. Each time I tried limits (no electronics until homework, extra tasks, practice work), our parents intervened. He’d cry, they’d tell me to give it back, so I eventually gave up. As expected, he got worse. He struggles with basics like addition/subtraction, spends hours on a single homework page, constantly gets up to play, and when seated, complains he doesn’t understand and wants help with every step. I warned my mother, but instead I was blamed for his decline—since they work, they said I should help him.
Years passed, and my mother finally saw his behavior firsthand: walking away mid-conversation, talking over her, acting like an adult. She’d tell him to put down his phone, but while she sat on hers, he’d pick his back up and sit beside her. He even locked himself in rooms to use devices. Our father believes disciplining him means we “hate” him, and once threatened to take our things if we took his away. After years of this, I told my mother I wouldn’t help academically anymore. I used to make practice tests and prep topics, but I stopped. Now, with our parents away for months at a time, I’m again in charge of his academics and wellbeing. He still doesn’t listen, and teachers now complain about his behavior. There may be an underlying issue, but nothing confirmed.
I gave him two weeks to listen and keep up with work. He hasn’t. I proposed not sending him to sports day as punishment. My mother says school activities shouldn’t be withheld, but she lets him get away with everything. P.S I proposed sports day specifically because he plays a lot at school and would often come home dirty. I thought not letting him go would be taking away that fun so that he can learn to take his academics more seriously. Work before play kind of thing. So, WIBTA?