Some families live by the phrase, “What’s mine is yours.” They share food, electronics, cars, sports equipment and maybe even clothing, because there’s enough mutual respect for one another and their belongings to create trust.

Meanwhile, other families have a hard time even sharing the television remote or taking turns in the bathroom without starting a war. And one man in particular, who gained five step-siblings through his mother’s marriage, learned that his new sisters could not be trusted if he had soda chilling in the fridge. Below, you’ll find the story of how he managed to get disgusting and petty revenge on them all.

When this man was working in a restaurant, he started bringing leftover soda home to store in the family fridge

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

But after noticing he wasn’t the only one drinking it, he found a way to get revenge on his sneaky step-siblings

Image credits: ALINA MATVEYCHEVA (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Xerzajik

Later, the man answered some questions from readers and provided additional information

About one third of Americans have at least one step or half-sibling

Blending families can be difficult for any parent or child to navigate. You may suddenly have new siblings that you barely know but are expected to treat like lifelong friends, and your parent might not have much authority over these strange new people in your house. But seeing one or both of your parents re-marry is an extremely common experience, especially for Americans.

According to the Pew Research Center, 42% of adults have at least one step-relative, one third of adults have a step or half-sibling, 18% have a living step-parent, and 13% have a step-child. But despite having step-families, not everyone immediately takes to their new parent and/or siblings.

In fact, one 2016 study found that kids who live with half or step-siblings are more aggressive than children who don’t live with blended families. “On average, children living with step- or half-siblings had aggressive behavior scores in kindergarten that were about 10 percent higher than children whose parents had the same union status but no step or half-siblings in the household,” Diane Swanbrow-Michigan writes for The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring.

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Image credits: Craig Adderley (not the actual photo)

Unfortunately, many step-siblings have a hard time getting along

When it comes to the behavior that children or teens will display when suddenly presented with step-siblings depends on various factors. For example, the man in this story noted that he had been an only child for most of his life. Meanwhile, his step-sisters had probably never been around a “brother” before, and most of them were younger than him. So they may have been more likely to act immaturely.  

Love to Know explains on their site that age differences, bonding concerns, grieving the previous family structure, jealousy among siblings, feeling like “home” isn’t home any more, and changes to the sibling “order” can make life challenging for anyone with step or half-siblings. 

And while siblings by blood are often known for having intense fights and arguments with one another, the love that’s present underneath it all may not be there amongst newer siblings. They might simply resent one another without having the foundation of love and bonding that brothers and sisters who have known each other for their entire lives have built.

Image credits: 100 files (not the actual photo)

Parents should keep an eye on tension in their blended families and work to mitigate it

So how can parents help manage sibling conflicts when their families blend? Healthline recommends having honest conversations with their children and acknowledging how difficult the adjustment may be. It’s not reasonable to expect siblings to be best friends immediately, so it’s important to be patient and not try to force anything.

It’s also expected for parents to be closer to their own children than their step-children, but they should still be aware of signs of jealousy among all of the kids. If the parents are working together as a unit, they have to consider the best interests of all of their children. Having regular family meetings can help ease tension, and ensuring that each child gets enough alone time and attention can be crucial. 

We would love to hear your thoughts on this story in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this man was right to get petty revenge on his siblings? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in checking out one more Bored Panda article, we recommend reading another about drama between blended families! 

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Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)

Amused readers shared their thoughts on the story, as well as some of their own ideas for getting revenge

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