The parents weren't likeable
The mom was cold and stand offish with almost everyone. The dad was an all round idiot. It was like they had no personality. They were too pretentious to evoke the amount of sympathy required for such a story.
shareI know this is late, but I agree.
Most people rag only on the father (I forgot his name) but Claire was pathetic and selfish. "Only a few feet away" but she would be too busy with her hobby to take care of her newborn son. You could see she put no effort into the nursery, it was less decorated than a hospital room; it wasn't decorated at all actually. She didn't even try to get involved when the others were playing a game, she just stood there looking jealous. She did nothing about Emma being bullied and wouldn't even listen to anything she had to say.
The father just stood there most of the time like he had no idea what was going on or what to do.