Why would she make things worse for their kids, because he can’t make things better for his stepkids?

Has anyone ever asked you to do a worse job at something to make them look better? They ask you not to sing well at karaoke because they’re insecure about the fact that they’re a bad singer. They want you to tone down your fashion, because they don’t know how to dress themselves. They want you to go easy on them in a sporting match because they’re not good enough to compete. There are some cases where requests like this aren’t totally inappropriate, but I can’t help but feel like most people who make them are kind of insecure. Who cares if someone else is a better singer than you at karaoke? Why should they have to dull their sparkle just because you aren’t able to stand by your lack of vocal talent? 

The worst version of this is parents asking other parents to do less for their kids because they can’t afford to do the same for theirs. Imagine asking your sister not to take her kids on vacation because you can’t afford it, and it will make your kids jealous. If you find yourself in a situation where your kids aren’t getting as many special privileges as other kids, you, as their parent, can change that. You can start saving up money so that you can actually afford to go on vacation with your kids instead of complaining about other people and the things they do for their kids. It’s not other people’s fault that they can afford to buy nice things for their kids, and you can’t. It’s your job as their parent to amend that. 

The dad in this story is angry that his kids have better lunches than his stepkids, but instead of making better lunches for his stepkids, he wants his ex-wife to stop making nice lunches for his kids. Some logic!