When toxic parents triangulate siblings

When toxic or narcissistic parents triangulate siblings, they manipulate them into a conflict-driven, competitive, or emotionally distant relationship to maintain control, avoid accountability, and manage their own emotional needs. This manipulative tactic involves bringing in a third person (a sibling) to act as a go-between, spreading gossip, or creating rigid roles—such as the "golden child" and the "scapegoat"—to ensure the children look to the parent for validation rather than to each