Mom lets teenage son accompany 8-year-old brother to school 'dad's night,' ex-husband claims she is shutting him out of his life: 'He was not the only older sibling there'

It's essential for children to have a lot of positive influences in their lives, not just their parents. Sure, as a parent, you want to model good behavior for your child. But there is only so much you can do. Children learn things from everywhere, not just you. If they have siblings, you hope that they can be good influences on them, too. Same with teacher, friends, aunts, uncles, and chosen mentors. The more the merrier. It's great for kids to be introduced to a variety of knowledge bases, personality types, and relationships. It's all fodder for growth.

But sometimes that breeds jealousy from the people closest to them. Maybe, as a parent, you want to be the first and last word on your child's rearing. That's not necessarily a healthy outlook, but it is one that some folks hold. That's what happened in this story, where a dad was jealous of the attention his kid was getting from his other child. The way the mom saw it, she was fostering great bonding time between her two boys.