IdahoRose wrote:
My other older sister is aware of the favoritism and hates it. She is incredibly jealous of me and my brother, telling us that we're spoiled and that mom and dad never treated her as nicely as they treat us.
You have the same amount of siblings and I'm the youngest as well. I quoted the above because I have an older sister who feels this way about us, but she is my Dad's favorite. She's got a lot of grudges against all of us, especially my Mom, who's favorite is her only son. If she doesn't feel "special" by all concerned, she's miserable. Growing up, everything was centered around this particular sister. She raged and threw tantrums and if it wasn't for her juvenile diabetes and fragile bones (which she constantly broke), I don't think we would have put up with her as much as we did. But yeah, she was Dad's favorite because when she was good, she was very affectionate, especially towards my Dad. He's a lot like her in that he likes feeling "special" and is very needy that way. That's why me and my Dad never got along, because I wasn't the least bit affectionate and hated being touched. When I was a teen, Dad had actually said to a visiting military officer (Dad was a Captain), "that there is my absolute favorite" while pointing to a picture of this particular sister. Right in front of me, but I wasn't surprised. I also had deep feelings for this sister. We all ached for her, and she took advantage of it.
Mom never admits to favorites, but it's obvious that it's my brother. When he accomplishes something, she just beams. She doesn't react the same way with her three daughters. Out of her daughters, I'd say her first born is her favorite, but I can't be as positive about that. My oldest sister makes more efforts to stay in touch with my parents, so that'd be why. She's also never caused any major upsets growing up. Very much a rule follower, like a "typical" first child.
As the youngest though, I had the option of staying home "forever" and they even told me that. The reason could very well be they thought I'd never make it on my own (I haven't really, I'm still struggling), but it's also in keeping with old tradition where the youngest stayed home so that the parents would have someone to look after them when they were old and helpless.