Parental Favoritism: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (BSG link) |
No edit summary |
||
Line 7:
It's tough being a kid in Fiction Land. Bad enough when you're an only child, but if you're among a pack of siblings, this particular trope is nearly guaranteed to raise its head at some point in order to make life even more difficult.
Parental Favoritism is just what it sounds like—one child is given preference over their siblings. In order to qualify, this has to be consistent. One child being asked to do the other's chores because their sibling is sick is probably not favoritism, although that probably won't stop the kid lumbered with the extra work from grumbling. One child having to do all the chores on a daily basis, while their
It may show itself in a variety of ways. If there is an argument or fight, the parent(s) will always take the side of one particular sibling, and the other(s) will be the ones being scolded/punished. The parents may brag about one child in particular and be admonishing or dismissive of the others for their faults and regardless of the achievements of the brothers and sisters. A regular line that may be entailed with this is a variant of, "Honestly, (insert name), why can't
Sometimes, there may be more than one "favorite," or the mother and father will have different "favorites," making life even more of a headache for their siblings.
Line 17:
* Birth Order
** The oldest child is favoured because they are the firstborn/family heir. Tends to apply more to sons than daughters, since old inheritance laws favour boys over girls. This is found more often in fantasy or historical literature, where these laws have a real impact on how the family is run. Sometimes, the oldest child may have a huge set of standards thrown on them, but other times, an overachiever will set ''other'' standards for the younger ones.
** The youngest child is favoured because they are the "baby" of the family, and the parents will protect them from being "bullied" by their older siblings even when they are big enough to defend themselves
** Middle children can often get a rough deal; very rarely are they the family favourite, unless they do something really outstanding to explain it. [[Middle Child Syndrome]], as it's known, is a [[Truth in Television|real life phenomenon]], that some psychologists are studying today.
** Occasionally, the parent(s) will favor a child who shares their own place in the birth order over the other children, due to their own childhood experiences with their siblings. For example, a parent who was bullied by their older siblings as a child being more likely to take the side of the younger child, regardless of the older sibling's guilt or innocence.
Line 25:
** If there is one daughter and several sons, she will probably be the "baby" of the family regardless of birth order (possible exception if she is the oldest sibling, in which case she'll be de facto babysitter). Strangely, brothers are seldom shown as resenting their sister—in fact, they'll "defend her honor" more ferociously than their parents will. Any potential boyfriends are in for a hard time.
* Personality
** Sometimes, one child is funnier, more gregarious, or more talented than the others, making them "the favorite" almost automatically. In some cases, this sibling will be sweetness and light to everyone else, but the [[Devil in Plain Sight]] to their brothers and sisters. Although, in other cases, the other child could have a negative personality so the fault could partly fall on them. Alternatively, a [[Dead Little Sister]] situation might occur with the parents...or parent, since this applies especially if a spouse has died. In this case, one child will be favoured because of their resemblance to a particular person. Particularly narcissistic parents however, tend to favour the child that most looks/acts like
* Biological vs. Adoption
** It hardly needs mentioning that dozens of [[Fairy Tale|fairy tales]] (notably "[[Cinderella (novel)|Cinderella]]") involve stepchildren mistreated by their parents in favor of their biological children. This is pretty much a [[Discredited Trope]] today; more commonly, you have an adopted child who suffers some perceived slight from his stepparent and must be reassured that he is loved just as much as the parent's natural children.
Line 40:
In fact, the obligatory "talk with the parents" is normally part of a '''Parental Favoritism''' plot...but that does not guarantee it will solve anything. If the writer is trying to [[Hand Wave]] the glaring bias of the parents, there will be a scene where mum and dad will give a long speech on how they value all their kids equally, and will tell the [[The Unfavourite|un-favorite]] child that making them live in the basement and forcing them to bow whenever their little brother enters a room is really a mark of their esteem. The words "you're the responsible one" will probably be mentioned in some form. A more realistic version is where the big talk is honest, and the parent doesn't bother trying to justify their actions, but do realise they were wrong and attempt to make amends. This is regularly done to "humanise" the hitherto parents—but it's probably too late. By the time of the talk, most of the audience will already be set against the parents, and it'll take a hell of a lot of good writing to redeem them. But if the parents have clearly realized their foolishness and have shown to be really sorry, then this MAY take a lot of weight off them.
'''Parental Favoritism''' can have a huge impact on characters even when they become adults. The Favorite will probably be spoiled and throw a tantrum if
This is all too often [[Truth in Television]].
| |||