Family: you can’t live with ‘em, you can’t live without ‘em! Siblings may cause your blood to boil when they tease you, and parents might get under your skin by trying to control too many aspects of your life. But at the end of the day, they’re family! As long as it’s clear that they truly love you, you can’t help but love them back.

But just because someone is family doesn’t mean you have to let them walk all over you or make unreasonable demands. In that case, feel free to call them out online! Below, you’ll find screenshots and photos featuring shockingly entitled behavior from relatives. We hope this list doesn’t remind you of any of your own family members, pandas, and keep reading to find conversations with Rachel Garduce, LCSW from Modern Therapy and Al Hoberman, MT-BC, LCAT from Zencare!

#1 How Dare A Pharmacist Not Agree With My Degree From Google

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#2 Till This Day, It Still Annoys Me That He Was Such A Jerk

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#3 What A “Selfish” Daughter

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To learn more about what it’s like to deal with an entitled family member and where this behavior comes from, we reached out to a couple of experts on the topic. According to Modern Therapy’s clinician Rachel Garduce, LCSW, “Entitled behavior often originates from upbringing, societal norms, and individual personality traits.”

“If individuals are consistently favored or their needs were met without effort, they may develop a sense of entitlement. Factors like age, race, and socioeconomic status also shape how others treat them, influencing their entitlement levels and opportunities,” Rachel explained. “Additionally, entitlement can serve as a defense mechanism against insecurity, where individuals seek validation and control to compensate for their own internal doubts.”

#4 This Entitled Human Being

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#5 My Mother Got Rid Of My First Pet Without Warning Me

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#6 My Pregnant Sister-In-Law Isn’t Happy That I Repurposed My Baby’s Outgrown Onesies

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We also got in touch with Zencare, an online therapist directory and the simplest way to find your ideal therapist, and Al Hoberman, a New York-based Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Board Certified Music Therapist, was kind enough to weigh in on the topic. Al noted that, “Entitlement can come across as overconfidence, but turned on its head, we can see it as an expression of some kind of need.”

“Maybe it’s wanting to feel special, to be cared and provided for, or to know that you’ll be there for them,” the expert explained. “Wanting a lot is a sign that someone feels that they’re lacking a lot, whether they’re fully aware of it or not.”

#7 My Mother-In-Law’s Reaction To Us (Me, Girlfriend, And Daughter) Moving To Vegas. And When She Says “My Daughter” She Means Her Granddaughter

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#8 My Mom Knows I’m Engaged And Living With My Fiancé

She says my fiancé is ugly, and she “can’t connect with her”. She only saw pictures and refused to meet her.

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#9 Too Many Things Wrong With This

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As far as why entitlement is often directed towards family members, Rachel says it might be because of how a person grew up and what they learned from their family. “If their needs were always put first, they might expect the same in adulthood,” she explained. 

“Cultural norms also play a role. For instance, if a culture values certain family roles, individuals might feel entitled to specific treatment within their families based on those norms,” Rachel added. “These dynamics shape their expectations and perceptions of entitlement within family relationships.”

#10 My Sister Expects Me To Buy Her A Bottle Of Water And Deliver It To Her Class Instead Of Walking Up To A Water Fountain. She’s So Spoiled

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#11 I Won’t Invite You To My Baby Shower, But You Better Get Me A Gift

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#12 My Entitled Aunt Forced Me To Take Care Of My Spoiled Cousin

My family decided to have a family reunion, and my entitled aunt drove up to me and my roommate’s front porch and just dropped my spoiled cousin off. He was there for a week as she wouldn’t drive back to get him. In the week that he was there, he threw fits and temper tantrums because we wouldn’t bend over backwards for his demands, and we ended up driving him back to his mother’s (my aunt) hotel room, and she ended up telling the family I punched her even though that’s further from the truth.

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Al also noted that this entitlement can be a bid for connection. “Just like a young child who is all smiles at daycare and then comes home and has a meltdown, we tend to show our most difficult feelings around people we trust,” the therapist explained. “So if a family member is asking a lot of you, it may be an unconscious way of asking, ‘How much can I lean on you and have you still love me?’”

“On the other hand, if someone has grown up in an environment where this kind of behavior was rewarded, or they observed it in others, it could be that this is just what feels normal to them,” Al added. “They might not even see it as special treatment, it’s just what they’re used to doing.”

#13 My Dad Thinks He Is Entitled To My Money (Which I Don’t Have Much Of) Because “It’s Christmas”

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#14 My Cousin Sent Me This Message On My 30th Birthday

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#15 Am I Crazy, Or Is This Toxic? I Am 18 In High School And My Mother Threatens Not Sending Me To College If I Don’t Spend Time With Her

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If anyone out there is struggling with family members making you feel guilty for not meeting their demands, both experts recommend setting clear boundaries. “Assertively communicate your needs and limits while understanding and validating their feelings,” Rachel told Bored Panda. 

“Remember, you’re not obliged to fulfill every demand, especially if it harms you or compromises your own well-being. Seeking help from a therapist can guide you in managing family issues effectively. It’s crucial to prioritize your well-being and assert your boundaries in these situations,” she explained.

#16 My Younger Brother Wants Me To Turn On My Hotspot At 4 In The Morning

Oftentimes, we make deals where he buys an energy drink or something, and I let him use my hotspot at 9 PM and leave it on during the night. My brother claims that at 2–3 AM, he goes to bed. Last night, I woke up to him spamming me a ton of messages, wanting me to turn it back on at 4 in the morning. This is the last time I’m going to use my hotspot. He’s 15 years old, by the way.

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#17 Wherein The Mother Of The Bride Wonders Why The Uncle She Disinvited Isn’t Gifting Her Daughter Any Money For Her Wedding

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#18 How Dare Her Mother-In-Law Be A Nice Person

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“It’s a common misconception that setting boundaries is about getting the other person to do something you want,” Al says. “Actually, it’s about figuring out what your limits are, and deciding how you’re going to respond when they’re crossed. Then, importantly, you communicate that decision ahead of time.”

“Say I have a parent who keeps giving me unsolicited parenting advice. My first step is to tell them it’s unwelcome, and ask them, firmly but kindly, to stop,” Al suggests. “Next, if they persist, I might say something like, ‘Listen, if you’re really not able to stop, I’m going to end our conversation. We can talk about something else another time.’”

#19 My Mother Won’t Ask For Consent When Posting Photos

My mom took a pic of me and my friends. I asked her not to post it, but this was her response.

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#20 My Sister’s Response After Offering Help

My sister is homeless and an addict. She used someone’s phone to message us, and I told her we love her, want to get her a phone, find her a nice rehab, and get an apartment afterward. 

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#21 Our Dog Destroyed Trim

I left my husband in charge of our dogs while the kids and I visited my family. He chose to stay at his brother’s house and only let our dogs out once a day. Yesterday, he sent me this picture and proceeded to blame it on me.

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“Of course, chances are, the person you set boundaries with is going to be upset at first,” Al notes. “That’s where the guilt comes in. No one wants to feel like they’re letting down someone they love, but tuning in to this caring can help you express yourself compassionately without compromising your own needs.”

#22 From My Stepmother The Day After My Sister Passed

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#23 This Is So Infuriating

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#24 My 13-Year-Old Niece Wanted AirPods For Her Birthday, But I Sent Her Some Generic Bluetooth Earbuds

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“Setting boundaries is a good way to handle conflict, but it doesn’t avoid it altogether,” Al added. “It can be an emotionally taxing process, and especially if you’re naturally conflict-averse, it’s important to have a support system in place as you go through it. This could mean speaking with friends, a partner, or a therapist, but should also include keeping in mind that you’re in a vulnerable place and treating yourself with care.”

#25 My Mother-In-Law Won’t Get The Flu Vaccine So She Could Meet Our Newborn Son. Insists She Is An Expert On Vaccines

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#26 My Cousin (Who I Have Not Spoken To In 16 Years) Is Demanding A Free Photoshoot Over A GameCube Cord (That I Actually Did Get Back To Him 20 Years Ago)

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#27 My Cousin Just Put This On Her Snap Story. Her Mom Washes, Folds, And Hangs Up Her Clothes Every Week

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“Entitlement is a complex issue and shows up in different ways and situations. Dealing with it means understanding yourself, setting boundaries, and talking openly with others,” Rachel shared. “It’s also helpful to figure out why you feel entitled or why those around you feel entitled, as it expands your self-awareness or your understanding of others. It can enhance your relationships with people. By working on these things, you can handle entitlement in a positive way and improve your connections with others.”

#28 My Sister Took My Phone To Send Herself $55 From My Cash App. Cash App Support Won’t Do Anything About It

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#29 I Moved Out Of My Dad’s After We Got Into A Pretty Big Physical Altercation

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#30 My Brother Has A Habit

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#31 That Time I Announced My Son’s Birth, And My Husband’s Aunt Decided To Say This

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#32 I Guess It’s Just Spreading Today. She’s Never Bugged Me About Posting Before

I haven’t used Facebook in a very long time, and I don’t even have the app on my phone anymore. We texted each other this morning. She wished me a happy Mother’s Day, and I did the same. 8 hours later, she sent me this.

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#33 She Really Wants Her To Change The Dog’s Name

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#34 Guilt Tripping Me For Not Being Able To Spend $130 On A Mother’s Day Gift

My mother has become increasingly greedy about gifts since I started making money. But I asked her for a vacuum cleaner for Christmas, and she told me I was crazy for asking for such an expensive gift. To be fair she did get me one, but she made a big deal about me asking for it. I feel like she always finds the most expensive thing she can and asks me for it.

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#35 Texts From My Sister When I Already Had Plans And Couldn’t Watch Her Kid

We both live at my grandma’s house. I work nights (7 PM – 3:30 AM), and she works days. I told her I could be free after 2 PM to help our grandma with my niece if needed. I made plans for a weekend a week in advance, and she texted me at almost 2 AM to tell me she worked at 10 AM and needed me to watch my niece. I told her I wasn’t going to be home because I had plans that weekend. This was her response. I chose not to engage because, in the past, engaging when she was like this just led to telling me what a horrible person I am.

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#36 My Dad Forcing Me To Be Somewhere Even Though I Might Still Be Sick

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#37 My Upstairs Cousin Told Me To Pay The Internet Bill When He Isn’t Supporting

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#38 My Narcissist Mom Reaching Out After I Went No Contact For 5 Months

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#39 My Rude Sister Asking If She Can Stay At My Place

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#40 This Entitled Stepmom. So Infuriating

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#41 My Aunt Losing Her Mind Over The Name Of My Soon-To-Be Born Daughter, Lilith

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#42 My Mom Is Threatening To Send Me Away Again Over Rent

I’m 17 and pay my mom rent 100 dollars a month, 50 dollars a paycheck, because I’m paid biweekly. She made me take money out of my savings because she absolutely couldn’t wait for my check to hit.

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#43 Imagine Thinking You Qualified For A Military Discount Because Your Father-In-Law Fought In The Vietnam War

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#44 My Dad Called Me 40 Times When I Was At Work, To Ask For Money. He Claims It Was An Accident, Then Sends This When I Block Him On Messenger

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#45 How Do I React To This From My Dad?

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#46 Mom Kept Calling Me While I Was At Dinner With Dad, Who I Only Get To See Once A Week At Most

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#47 My Entitled Mother

She always felt like she was entitled to see how my body was developing because she was my mother and “created” me. I had no privacy, and I still have problems years later from her barging in on me while I used to shower. I spent most of my childhood feeling deep shame and crying a lot. I didn’t realize this wasn’t a normal thing till a few years ago (I’m 31 now). Oh yeah, she’d be laughing the whole time, too. I still don’t understand what she got out of it.

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#48 I Just Had An Insane Chat With My Mother. Thinking Of Just Not Opening The Door For Her When She Comes

In the end, I just left because she had the keys to my house. I changed the locks the next day.

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#49 I Didn’t Realize Grief Was A Contest

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#50 My Aunt (Very Low Contact) Continues To Ask To Spend The Night At My And My Boyfriend’s Place After Openly Attacking Us At A Party She Wasn’t Even Invited To

My aunt showed up to my family’s New Year’s feast at my parent’s house completely uninvited. She has purposely not been invited the past few years because of some particular nasty or toxic behavior she’s shown at New Year’s feasts in the past.
Our relationship hasn’t been great for a while since she has become a lot more angry and intense over the past few years as compared to the fun-loving aunt I grew up knowing.
It’s also not like she can’t afford a hotel room for the night since she and her husband are incredibly well-off financially.

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#51 Insane Stepmom

I sold my ex-stepmom a Jeep a few weeks after she totaled her vehicle. I knew this was a bad idea to begin with, but I love my dad, and he asked me to. My poor father has a bad habit of finding the craziest partners. They were not together at the time she messaged me, and he was working on the divorce.

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#52 My Entitled Mother Always Bosses Me Around

My mom has been ordering me around to do tedious tasks via text, in-person, and phone calls. When I decline one task, she gets passive-aggressive and “punishes me”. She went as far as sending my dog, whom I had for 11 years, to the shelter after I didn’t want to share my grades with her. One time, I lost bed privileges and came back to my room with no bed. Also it wasn’t my room anymore. It was the office with a cot. She just said that my full-sized bed was too big, and she got tired of how much space it took up, so she threw it away. I had to save up to buy a bed. I was temporarily disabled at the time and was only getting paid less than $200 a month from the government.

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#53 My Demanding Parents

My mother and father showed up outside my apartment without a notice and demanded I go eat dinner with them even though I’ve been living independently for six years. The last time I saw them, they made me cry in public, so I’ve been putting off seeing them.

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#54 My Very Controlling Stepmom

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#55 My Mom Can’t Handle That I Got My Septum Pierced. I’m 27 Years Old, Married And Have Been Out Of The House For A Year

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#56 I Gave My Younger Brother A 50″ Flat Screen Because We Were Gifted A Larger One. More Importantly, Our Mother Wants To Know Everything

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#57 That Time I Gave Birth To My Second Kid And Kindly Asked My Ex-Boyfriend’s Mom Not To Post A Picture Of My Newborn

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#58 Family Can Be The Worst

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#59 You’re A College Student Who’s Sick In Bed And Needs To Rest, But Your Mom Says She’s Suddenly Coming To Visit You

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#60 My Partner’s Mom Passed Away Less Than Two Months Ago, So We’re Just Doing Thanksgiving Together This Year. This Is My Sister’s Reaction

My partner’s mom passed away less than two months ago. She was only 66, and it was very sudden and unexpected. My partner is not up for a family meal, so we’re just doing Thanksgiving at home. When I told my dad, he was very kind and understanding, and also said he didn’t know if he was doing anything in any way.

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#61 Wants To Live Free With Mother-In-Law And Gets This Offended While Being Asked To Clean Up After Herself

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#62 My Mom Took Our Kitten Back To The Rescue Without Giving Me The Chance To Say Goodbye

We got a new kitten. Unfortunately, we weren’t the best fit for him. He had separation anxiety and would spend all day crying, even when we were in the room with him. We decided we would probably return him and find him a home with lots of animals that he could play with.
We talked about it briefly before I left for the gym today, and I told my mom, “Well, whenever you think you are going to take him back, just tell me so I can say goodbye.”
15 minutes later, into my workout, I got the news that she had taken him away.

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#63 Parents Paid For An Entire Trip To Disney, Daughter Upset She Didn’t Get More Gifts From Them. Ended Up Convincing Her Facebook Group To Send Her Gifts

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#64 Divorcing Husband Of 14 Years For Being Broke

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#65 My Entitled Cousin

I got this text from my cousin. This is after I spent 40$+ making her a baby shower cake and didn’t even get a thank you, much less any payment. In her language: “If you decide to” means “Do this for free”.

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#66 My 20-Year-Old Brother Begs Me To Use The Car So He Can Drop Off His “Girlfriend” Who Lives 30 Miles Away. I Only Asked Him To Get Permission From Parents And A Valid Reason

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#67 My Mom Thinks She’s Entitled To A Relationship With My Son

I had my son in September and was sending my mother pictures but made it clear to her that I was not ready to see her or have her meet him yet because of how bad our relationship was. I stopped talking to her while I was pregnant solely because of how much stress she caused me, and I wanted to stay as calm as possible to make sure my son stayed healthy while developing. I cut out all unnecessary stress and drama while pregnant and have made sure that my son has been in a calm and peaceful environment since he was born.

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#68 This Makes Me Sad For This Mom

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#69 I’m A 33-Year-Old Man, And This Is How My Mom Reacts To Changing A Plan Of Visiting

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#70 Giving My Cousin’s Son My PS4 Pro + Games, But Cousin Also Wants Me To Get CAD160 + Tax Worth Of Games

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#71 I Told My Mother If I Had Anything Leftover After Moving, I’d Think About Giving Her Some Money. This Was Her Response To Me, Saying I Don’t Think I Want To

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#72 My Narcissistic Mother

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#73 Mom Wants Me To Make A Long Drive While I’m Sick

I’m 16 and sick at my father’s house (my parents are divorced). I was supposed to take my younger brother and myself to my mother’s house. I slept past the time she wanted me there. She thinks my father’s house is making us sick because it has mold. It doesn’t. He’s had it professionally checked multiple times, but she keeps insisting on it.

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#74 Entitled Mom Tries To Take A Truck From Me That She Gave Me For My 15th Birthday And I’m Paying For Repairs

For context: I’m 16 years old and I moved out of my mom’s place a year ago. I’ve been taking care of the truck by myself, and then I got this message while I was at school.

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#75 My Entitled Mother Has Been Taking My Money For The Last Month, And When I Called Her Out, She Said “I Don’t Deserve Money”

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#76 Brother Completely Loses It On Me For Not Wanting To Play A Video Game

My brother was trying to pressure me into playing more on stream with him. I had already streamed playing it with him for over 2 hours, and I told him I didn’t enjoy it. When I put my foot down, he lost his mind. I blocked him on everything, and he messaged me 34 times on Steam, enraged and calling me every name in the book. I haven’t spoken to him in over a month now, and I don’t plan on speaking to him again. Especially after that last message.

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#77 The Entitlement Is Overflowing

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#78 My Little Brother Always Asks Me For Money

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#79 Self-Absorbed Mother-In-Law Is Offended About Our First Baby’s Name. The Pics Are From My Husband’s Phone

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#80 After A Long Shift At Work, I Had This Gem Waiting For Me From My Sister, Who Refuses To Pay Me For Petrol And Who Now Refuses To Pay For The Wine I Bought Her

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Source: boredpanda.com