I disagree that parents necessarily have favorites, although this CAN be true I think it is far from inevitable. Maybe you all "rank" relationships from best to worst, but really, how do you compare two or more completely different people?? Unless they are adults, how do you even know if you prefer the personality of one over the other? They aren't even finished forming their personality yet! And some ages are super annoying-- I find 9-12 year olds super trying, they aren't cute anymore and they aren't adult enough to give parents much of a break. If by "favorite" you mean right now, one kid is just more fun and makes you happier than the other, I guess I can see that, but I wouldn't call that a favorite. I think most parents who have favorites view their kids more as possessions and reflections on them than they do as independent people with their own lives to live. When you think "I only have my kid for 18-25 years to make them into awesome people, and my influence diminishes way before that" rather than "this kid makes ME happier", I think it is unlikely you will have favorites. I don't even have a favorite among my nieces, I can't imagine having one among my own kids.
Do you think it's right for parents to have favorites?
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I disagree that parents necessarily have favorites, although this CAN be true I think it is far from inevitable. Maybe you all "rank" relationships from best to worst, but really, how do you compare two or more completely different people?? Unless they are adults, how do you even know if you prefer the personality of one over the other? They aren't even finished forming their personality yet! And some ages are super annoying-- I find 9-12 year olds super trying, they aren't cute anymore and they aren't adult enough to give parents much of a break. If by "favorite" you mean right now, one kid is just more fun and makes you happier than the other, I guess I can see that, but I wouldn't call that a favorite. I think most parents who have favorites view their kids more as possessions and reflections on them than they do as independent people with their own lives to live. When you think "I only have my kid for 18-25 years to make them into awesome people, and my influence diminishes way before that" rather than "this kid makes ME happier", I think it is unlikely you will have favorites. I don't even have a favorite among my nieces, I can't imagine having one among my own kids.