Sometimes, parents target a child for abuse because the child is hyperactive, has a disability, or displays personality traits the parent doesn't like. More likely than not, though, Egeland says, there is no logical explanation.
“Parents may favor one child over another, for a lot of reasons. The child may have an easy temperament or might behave particularly well. They may look like you, or remind you of a favorite relative,” says Susan Newman, Ph.
Dig a little deeper, though, and it turns out that most favouritism has less to do with love and more to do with like: the same parents say that they love their children equally, but that one child's personality resonates more with them than those of their siblings.
Parental stress plays a role
Although most parents love and nurture all their children, they will inevitably find that they are more in tune with one child than another. One child is perhaps a bit more social; another is more ready to anger, a third finds learning easier.
The favored child may develop a sense of entitlement and become used to getting their way, which can lead to problems. The unfavored child may feel inadequate or unlovable or lash out at their family. In some cases, favoritism may lead to serious mental health problems like depression, anxiety, or PTSD.
Nepotism/Cronyism
The most common cause of favoritism occurring at work is the manager knowing an employee on a personal level. This could be because they are related or knew each other before they worked together, but it can also be because they developed a personal friendship after meeting through work.
While the youngest sibling is usually the funniest kid, mom and dad favor the youngest for a reason that might surprise you. According to a new study conducted by Brigham Young University's School of Family Life, the youngest sibling of the family tends to be mom and dad's favorite child because of perception.
Golden child syndrome, or being a “golden child,” is a term typically used by family, and most often by parents, to refer to a child in the family that's regarded as exceptional in some way. The golden child is expected to be extraordinary at everything, not make mistakes, and essentially be “perfect.”
Research has showed that, while having one child is associated with a gain in happiness, having a second is associated with a drop in happiness for mothers.
Almost every parent on the planet has witnessed favoritism from their child. And whether you are the favorite parent or the parent being shunned, the first time it happens can be confusing and sometimes downright painful. But do not despair. This type of behavior is not only common among kids, but it is often expected.
Families rarely talk about this, but research shows that many parents do, in fact, have a favorite and least favorite child. And more often than not, their kids are wrong about who is who.
Parents with two children who admit to having a favourite overwhelmingly (62%) prefer the youngest. Only 30% say they prefer the eldest.
The neglected children may develop hatred towards the parent who displayed favouritism. Also, such children are more likely to exhibit aggression and inappropriate behavior in their schools and with siblings. The lack of parental affirmation and affection may leave a void in their lives which can never be filled.
“The biggest long-term dangers are depression, anxiety, unstable or even traumatic reactions in personal relationships, and performance anxiety for both the favored and non-favored children,” says Williams. She also discusses self-esteem issues and feelings of rejection following the child into adulthood.
However, within the narcissistic family structure, there is typically one child whom the narcissist family member (usually a parent) favors, as they see that child as the embodiment of all of the virtues that they believe themselves to hold.
A family scapegoat is a kind of family projection that occurs when a person places responsibility for unresolved problems on a child, sibling, or another family member. 1. To put it simply, the scapegoat is a family member that is easier to place blame on rather than take responsibility for our own actions and mistakes ...
You Are Portrayed In A Negative Light To Others
Hearing insults and disparaging comments can be discouraging, and you may feel even more discouraged if your family has painted you as an unlikeable person to others. If you're the family scapegoat, your character may be publicly attacked at every opportunity.
Harman interviewed 950 parents from a wide range of family set-ups, and concluded that the happiest families were those with four or more children. The main advantages cited by these parents were increased positive social interactions within the family and high levels of support among siblings.
Does that hold true for your family? The order you were born can have an impact on how successful you are in life, according to Sandra Black, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
A recent study has found that it's not the youngest child that's liked the most. It's actually the eldest! While eldest children around the world have had to be the example for their younger siblings and parents being extra strict on them, it looks like there was a good reason.
One social psychologist noted that favoritism is more likely “when parents are under a great deal of stress (e.g., marital problems, financial worries). In these cases, parents may be unable to inhibit their true feelings or monitor how fair they're behaving.”
In fact, one study published in the Journal of Family Psychology found 74% of moms and 70% of dads reported preferential treatment toward one child. And even though parents in the study did not indicate which child they preferred, siblings can often report sensing which child is the parent's favorite.
Typically, favoritism has little to do with loving one child more. It is more about how your personality resonates with one child's personality more than the other's. Essentially, it's a question of like.