The people we grow up with tend to be a rather strong influence in our lives. So, it’s no surprise that growing up surrounded by brothers only, for instance, or having five sisters, is likely to leave its mark; for better or worse.

For this redditor’s brother, the way she influenced his life was an act of petty revenge that left him checking his seat for decades. In a post shared with the online community, the woman recalled living surrounded by seven teenage boys, who eventually got on her nerves so much, she decided to teach them a lesson. Scroll down to find the full story below.

Growing up with siblings can be a pain in the neck

Image credits: Prostock-studio / envatoelements (not the actual photo)

This woman grew up with seven teenage boys, one of whom became a victim of her petty revenge

Image credits: Mehaniq41 / envatoelements (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Tml1668

A sibling bond is the epitome of a love-hate relationship

Image credits: Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo)

Anyone who grew up with siblings knows just how annoying they can be. With them, the shared space would typically become a warzone, the remote control and other appliances – a trophy only one ‘athlete’ could get (not without a fight, of course), and the shouting would resemble a medieval battle cry more than two youngsters fighting. But even with all that in mind, there is no one you love more in the world than that little—or big—aggravating fool.

A relationship like that can be summed up by saying that what one has is a person who would be the first one to help them hide the body, but would never lend them their sweatshirt at the same time. I suspect quite a few of you know exactly what I’m talking about, as, according to Worldmetrics, roughly 80% of people have at least one sibling.

In a piece for the BBC, the co-founder of a mental-health center in New York City, RIVIA Mind, Dr. Raymond Raad, pointed out that “Children have much less ability than adults do to reflect on what’s upsetting them or keep their impulses at bay. So, they fight a lot, as we all know.”

Another thing, according to Dr. Raad, that doesn’t really help with the bickering, is the natural inclination to compare ourselves to other people, which works like fuel to the flame when it comes to sibling competition. It’s no secret that it can be difficult for kids not to compare themselves with their sibling, whether they’re better or worse in something than their brother or sister.

Despite the stormy relationships as kids, many siblings eventually grow out of the fighting stage

Image credits: cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)

Since the competition is usually strong enough as it is, it’s important for parents not to fuel it even more. According to the Institute for Family Studies, playing favorites among children can have a lasting negative effect on their relationships, their self-esteem, and feelings of social connection.

And it’s not only at a young age that children can be affected by their parents praising one kid over another; the perception of parental favoritism can reportedly negatively affect sibling relationships later in life, too. “Even as adults, Americans who perceived that their parents had a favorite child are much less likely to report being satisfied with their sibling relationship than those who believe their parents did not pick favorites,” the Institute for Family Studies reports.

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While it might feel like siblings fighting and replicating what they saw on WWE will last forever—especially for parents who have to live amid the chaos their offspring create—more times than not, it doesn’t.

A survey from last year found that for most brothers and sisters, sibling rivalry usually diminishes with age, as it seemingly did for the OP and her brother. Even though her petty revenge still makes her sibling check his chair every time before taking a seat, in an edit she made, the redditor shared that nowadays, the siblings get along great.

Fellow netizens applauded the woman’s petty revenge

Some people had questions, which the OP replied to in the comments

For a few netizens, the story brought up memories

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