Why do some parents have a favorite child?

Hi, this discussion caught my eye because I too had to deal with not being my Mom's favorite growing up. For me it was never admitted but you could just feel it and the unfairness was made obvious in the way my sister was treated compared to me. It was a very hurtful thing to feel and I always wondered if it was because I was the middle child. I still don't have an answer to this day about why this occured but I do know that could never feel that way about my children. I always swore I would have an even number of children because I didn't want to have a middle child for fear that they would have to experience the same type of rejection. As fate would have it though I ended up having 2 beautiful girls and than my husband and I decided to try once more for a boy. He was feeling a little outnumbered:-) Anyway we got our boy and decided that 3 was enough for us. I have never once felt like any of my children are favored or treated differntly and I think I try very hard to make sure that each one of them knows how special they are for their own unique reasons. I agree with you and feel that there should not be a favorite child because it is too hurtful to the other children and frankly I can't even imagine how you could have a favorite child. I love all 3 of my children dearly!

Hi, I don't think parents should have a favorite child, never the less, tell them. It could be hurtful for the child they don't favor. I love each of my children equally, but for different reasons. All children, of course, are not alike and should be loved for who they are.

I guess it is human nature to like and dislike anyone, no-one can help their feelings but i think it is rather naughty of nay parent to show it or let it known as children can be very sensitive and it can affect them in many ways.

When kids are little I don't believe in picking favorites. But I just got into an argument with my dad about this. He loves all of his kids equally which is fine but he refuses to acknowledge the positive things his kids do and makes excuses for the negative things his kids do. When your children are grown it is fine to pick a favorite. If one is a lawyer who has a family and lives a nice normal life and the other only calls their sibling to bail them out of jail or represent them when they did something wrong then as a mother I would find it easy to pick a favorite in a situation like that. But as children all children need the same amount of love and attention and the worst thing a parent can do is let their kids know they have a favorite. Those kinds of parents are setting themselves up for everything wrong the kid who wasn't their favorite ever does in their life to be the parents fault.