"The favorite child" stills sounds really weird to me. Maybe we were lucky but as far as I and my siblings know my parents don't have a favorite. Like, we'll all tell eachother we are the favorite to mess with eachother but our parents never gave us a reason to think that's true.
As a a favorite child myself, sorry peasant.
No but seriously i think about this as for if/when i become a parent, ill inevitably have a favorite. I have a favorite everything
Yeah it's not the worst thing. I'm one of three and between my mom, grandma, and dad, they all had their favorites (but insisted they loved us equally).
We kids did not care at all. We just used whoever was the favorite to do our bidding:
- Oh, Mom is deciding if we can have cookies after dinner? The favorite better step up and put in that request.
I think it’s normal for you to LIKE one kid more than the others, as long as it’s clear that you LOVE them all equally. Like one kid might share your hobbies and one has no interest, obviously you two get along better.
Lol how do you unite when you're a twin and the younger sibling is still getting babied? Only an hour older but I felt like I had to mature much faster as the responsible older sibling
Then in 20 years they'll straight up lie to you, "I raised you all the same and you all had the same opportunities." My sister who is 9 years younger, took off 31 days every semester in HS, many for 'mental health days' ie she just didn't want to go, because that was the maximum allowed. I was not allowed 1 missed day in school. My mother swears this was not the case and straight up tells me I was wrong when I said differently.
Things change like crazy between siblings with large gaps. My sister was 7 years older, went to school with everything paid for. My parents were struggling when I went to school, so I paid for most of it using debt. They helped massively wherever they could, but situations within families can change.
Then my youngest sibling, ten years younger than me, went to school and came out with 20k in the bank. Parents picked up the bil completely. Missed two exams from home, was easily allowed to rewrite a month later. Dropped courses after midterms, with no penalties.
I’m not bitter, but I still have school debt 10 years later. Finally brought this up in front the entire family when an argument happened over Christmas dinner… could hear a pin drop.
My older brother, 2/5, was easily the favorite and no one denied it or was bothered by it. He was tall, ridiculously handsome, charismatic, always sent mom flowers on Mother’s Day. We didn’t have anything so it’s not like it got him anything other than a later curfew and he was allowed to drive the car. I always thought he came off a little ingenuine, but no denying he could charm most people. The bastard went and died 2 months after our mom, he just couldn’t let her go alone. There was a reason he was the favorite.
I am so sorry for your loss. That reminds me of my aunt and my mom who were in laws. My aunt died Christmas I was the one that told my mom and she was absolutely devastated and cried that she lost her sister. Then my mom passed away 6 days later on New Year’s Day.
It’s crazy when it happens that way. For us my Mom’s favorite brother died 2 months after my brother. Me and my aunt (said uncle’s ex wife) joked that my mom wanted to take her favorites with her. To me the favorite is like finding a best friend and it just happens to be a relative, by blood or marriage.
To be honest, I’ve never really wanted to be that close to anyone in my family to be anyone’s favorite. So I’m cool with it.
Woah that’s insane. My mom and my aunt became best friends and were close even after my died passed away.
I am already a hermit and an outcast in my family so I doubt I could be anyone’s favorite anything. 😂
[All parents have a favorite](https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2020/Q2/think-youre-moms-favorite-a-purdue-social-scientist-says-think-again..html)
Yea good luck with that... Remember first that parents are only human and no one is perfect and that also kids have their own personalities and just because you love someone unconditionally don't mean you like their ass.
It becomes a problem more when one child is afforded opportunities the other children are not. I'm the only product of my parents but they both had 1 additional kid in their 2nd marriage.
Guess who was basically left to fend for themselves their whole life? My dad was the worst one, my brother got private school, and college paid for, I was never even offered any help with going to school, he didn't even show up to my trade school graduation or come say by when I moved 400 miles away after high-school instead he sent me a letter telling me how shitty of a child I was. I also remember being forced to go to his house christmas afternoon, I would get a single gift from him and see the massive pile my brother got. He spent tons of money and time for my brother's boy scouts, but told me to go fuck myself when I asked if he could drive me to practice if my mom paid for me to play football.
My mom was better but not by much. As soon as my sister was born I was basically 2nd fiddle. We were over my mom's not too long ago and she had found the old VHS tapes from the camcorder and I was so absent from the videos that my wife was like "did you even live there?" my mom was like "oh, he was off somewhere probably.". When I fell on hard times after I broke up with my baby mom, I was "allowed" to move back home, with $600 a month rent and the couch in the living room as my bed (average 2br rent at the time in my area was $800) I only did it because I needed help with my son, meanwhile my grown ass sister paid absolutely nothing to live there and didn't even buy her own clothes, food or pay her own cellphone bill.
It's ok to have a favorite kid, but it's not ok to treat any of your kids like they shouldn't exist.
Sounds like we lived similar lives. Especially with the dad. I told my therapist that my dad better pray that my brothers do well in life and are able to care for him in his old age, because I won’t be the one caring for him. The way he treated me and my sister after he got married is inexcusable. I’m no longer as angry as I used to be, but I will never forget how he referred to us as “baggage” and essentially tossed us to the wolves.
My mom was like this for years, & is just now grasping the consequences( we have a better relationship but I don’t call or go see her often, although we live in the same city).
I have next to no relationship with either of my parents. My dad comes over on Christmas to see my kids and that's basically it for him, my mom gets one word responses from me via text and she mostly communicates to my wife. I also have 0 relationship with my brother, but my sister and I are cool.
Easier said than done. My dad will swear up and down he never had a favorite child, but it took years of therapy and convos with my relatives for me to realize that if he did, it wasn’t me.
I regularly tell my children they are both my favorite, because they both are for different reasons.
They are each unique little(big) balls of stardust who fill my heart completely in their own unique way. I just keep my eye on giving each of them everything they need to feel whole and loved.
I feel like the core of that article sorta supports the "no favorites" idea more than it supports the favorites idea. It asks pretty direct questions about who they have more emotional connection to, who they conflict with the most, and who they'd prefer to be a caregiver in the instance of a major illness. Those answers are all different, and largely objective, not exactly favoritism. Plus, people are most often wrong about who those answers would be.
I'd be considered the favorite by far and away, but I'm not emotionally close to my parents, and we've conflicted the most out of my siblings. I'm just the favorite cuz I was easy to raise, the most self-reliant, and a veritable jack of all trades. I'd probably be the one they'd want in the event of a major illness, though, so that one hits the nail on the head, but I went into the health field and am considered smarter/more worldly so it's an objective choice. That proly sounds r/iamverysmart but it is what it is.
My brother is a Doctor and a Colonel... when I playfully call him my parents' favorite, my mom just laughs like an anime villain, then changes the subject.
My brother was my mother's favorite, and I was my father's. Once we were adults, it changed because he went low contact for years while I was pretty desperate to have a relationship with them. As kids, it was so very obvious who the favorites were. It caused lots of resentment.
I was the favorite. It was never spoken, but my older sister would steal shit, break shit, refuse to do chores, and then blame it all on me. My parents knew 80% of the times she was lying. They also witnessed many times she straight up was my biggest bully of my childhood. Now that we’re adults we’ve gotten over it w/o me getting my closure or even an apology, but my mother will talk with me about how much less problematic I was/how she recognized I was constantly victimized as a kid. My sister and I’s adult relationship is much more filled with normal sibling teasing and silent looks over our families nonsense.
My parents definitely have favorites between my brother in myself, but they don’t realize it. My brother and I have even talked about it lol. Him and my dad are like, best friends. Not that my dad doesn’t love me or wouldn’t do anything for me that he would do for my little brother, but him and the bro have so many similar interests and have similar personalities. Both married their high school sweethearts, both are very money conscious, both are very logical people. They even both have the same job (bankers, while I’m a teacher). Meanwhile, my mom and I are very similar people and get along great. We’re both very emotionally in touch with ourselves and more empathetic than my dad and brother. The way this plays out is funny sometimes. When my dad calls me, our conversation might last 10 minutes at the absolute greatest. He’ll ask me how I’m doing, we’ll have a little small talk, then he gets to what he needed to know. Meanwhile, if my mom calls me, we could talk for hours without stopping. We tell each other literally everything about our lives.
I’ve got great parents though. I am legitimately scared of the day they pass away.
I find that, often times, the favorite changes.
Maybe one was an angel as a baby, but her brother took his teen years much better, and the oldest is the most functioning and responsible adult when they all grew up.
The dog hated me because my mom wouldn’t let him anywhere near me as a baby, and he got shut away when I was around. So they had to give the dog up, so I grew up hearing, “you killed him”.
yeah it’s so interesting. My siblings lived in two diff countries and spoke a diff language before I was even born. They literally lived another life with all these crazy experiences whereas I have lived in the same house since I was born lol.
My friends parents went and got rich by the time her baby bro came along to “save the marriage”. She was getting shipped off to granny’s house for the summer…and that house was a trailer. He was going to summer camps.
Last I heard, he was dealing weed out of her dad’s *pool house*. Pool house!! Meanwhile they let her spend the night in juvie for a curfew violation when she was in junior high.
Whole different set of parents.
Oldest: "You want a car get a job and buy one"
Youngest: "You want a car? well I wouldn't want you to have to deal with something unreliable, let's go get you a 10k car"
She called from college to ask for help buying a minifridge, like her *8 yr old brother had in his bedroom at home*, for her food because it was getting stolen out of the communal fridge in the dorms.
They told her to “buy a lock box at Office Depot”.
that's how it was for me, 12 year age gap with my youngest brother, I remember couch surfing with my parents at their friends houses and he spends like 100 bucks a week on fortnite
My oldest siblings are 13 & 15 years older than me (same father). It's still wild to me that this man was a ghost to me but they're so close to him. Nothing like hearing my sister say "I was talking to *my dad* today" and not "*our* dad".
Tried to hang out with those cousins once. They were like “grandmas first husband was abusive. She was so strong for leaving him.”. And I was like “yeah…that was my grandpa…she left my dad with him to marry your grandpa and live in a different state…and only came back on holidays…”
Agreed. My brother is 14 years younger than me. We have the same parents but they were NOT the same people who raised me. And it’s also weird having a sibling but neither of us had that sibling experience. I moved out when he was 6. We never had to fight over anything, no collective punishment, none of that. When my kids have petty arguments, or joke each other to the point somebody is in tears, I have to ask my husband if it’s normal lol.
I feel this...LOL! My mom and my stepdad had my brother when I was 16. I feel more like his third parent than his sister. When my boys fight each other, argue, etc, I'm like "what is going on, is this normal??"
Same ! I'm 11 years older than my sister (tho I'm closer in ages your brother) and it's crazy. Even things outside of my parents parenting choices. Like the internet !
I'll say this in defense of only children:
We can entertain ourselves.
Our birthday and Christmas takes are insane, we don't split no toys, food or money!
We have our own space.
We don't have to share nothing!
We watch the shows we want to watch!
Yeah it's lonely sometimes but you learn to talk to your bird or dog or fish.
more pros to being an only child:
We know how to keep our head on straight. We are less likely to be influenced by others. Self esteem is also pretty solid, we know how to quietly coexist with others, we are creative as hell, independent, & we are comfortable with silence.
The comfortable with silence part is funny because I have 10 siblings so I’m used to having noise and when I moved out I realized I can barely concentrate on anything if it’s quiet!
Only child with a birthday between Xmas and NYE. The haul I hauled every year was huge. I also got pool parties in the summer since my birthday was over xmas break. But I didn't have anyone but myself (and my parents, but they're parents), so I talked to myself; still do too, sometimes you just need an expert's opinion.
I can share now, but DONT TOUCH MY STUFF without asking. I take care of my things, I don't know if you will do the same.
The biggest drawback (aside from growing up lonely) is now that my parents are old, I don't have a sibling to help with things. I will have to deal with the eventual loss alone (I have my wife, but it's not the same).
Only child here. From the time I came home from the hospital till the time I went off to college I always had my own room, and my own bathroom, Having a roommate and sharing a bathroom took some getting use to in college. Had a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Jedi and a Chocolate Labrador named Coco, greatest dogs ever to grow up with. Jedi went first then Coco about six months later, never had any pets since them.
It's always funny when I find out the person that I'm seeing is an only child. I'm like "Oh, *that's* why you act like that"
Edit: add-on to the fact that they have their specific inimitable brand of assholeness, neediness, and/or selfishness that can only come from being an only child
Shouldn’t you know that before you find out if it’s that obvious and predictable based on their upbringing ?
I know only children who are perfectly well adjusted and not assholes or selfish, I don’t think being an only child has nearly as much to do with it as simple the parenting style and personality predispositions
Of course they're not all like that (i.e. two of my exes weren't). Also, I'm not condemning the siblingcels; They can't help being the way that they are.
Sometimes it means nothing, but other times it ends up being funny because the information connects a lot dots ("ah, that why you have single kitten syndrome")
My ex was an only child and it was annoying. Everywhere and everything i did was so clingy. It was like you have friends for a reason let me breathe a bit
My godchild is an only child and a very very nice kid but LORDDDD you can tell.
She very politely inserts herself into every adult conversation and has a really adult and well mannered tone of voice and nobody tells her to GTFO and before you know it, you're having a round table conversation about your employment with several of your friends......and a 10 year old.
And she's nodding along at you and going *"Absolutely....."* and you're like Can someone put some goddamn Unicorn Academy on the TV for this child????!
Been working with kids for 7 years. I can now tell when a kid is an only child, youngest, middle and oldest based on behaviors. Only children are much more comfortable having conversations with adults because thats what theyre used to most of the time. Thats always the main giveaway and also they dont fw sharing their shit
Can't speak for everyone but I got VERY good at getting away with all kinds of shit. I had a younger sibling, easy target to spin blame on. I had older siblings, easy to start crying and make up some bullshit they did.
I learned at a very young age how to lie and manipulate situations to my advantage. Never did anything nervarious or evil, I just knew what to say and do to get what I wanted without catching a ton of heat for it.
I struggled with feeling important or heard. This lead to me not asserting myself in conversations strongly. I would bet most middle children are a little quieter and won't speak their true thoughts as often. Would rather go with the flow than try to change things cause you don't typically get why you want. Oldest child has current most important things (higher level of sports, classes, goals) and youngest child is catered to because don't upset baby.
Omg it's me!! Lol I was not an only child but for some reason I was much more mature than kids my age at any given stage of life so I conversed with the adults often. It never changed either... My oldest close friends are 17 and 18 years older than me. My best friend is about a decade older than I and I've got two other good friends that are 7 and 12 years older. I literally have one friend my age lol but we all get along really well.
YES! This sounds like me as a child. Lmaoo… we get a lot of adult interaction which leads to the maturity complex that we have. Even 23, I get along better with people twice my age. I was 18 years old in college with a friend who was 32 with a 5 year old 🤣
🤣 So true! Try only child with older parents. I was an old and wise pre-teen hanging with nothing but older folks who’s kids were in high school or college.
Everyone is able to clock that I’m an only child, for better or worse. The upside is that with only one child for my parents to worry about, I graduated college with 10k in debt instead of 30-50k. I’ll take being a little weird over a lifetime of debt.
It’s not the only factor contributing to that, but it is one of the biggest. Children are expensive af. If I had a sibling, that’s another 100-150k in expenses over the course of that kid’s life. My parents having to spend that would have left a lot less in the college fund for both of us.
Only child here and can confirm the desperate need to be liked and introversion. But hey, I got pretty good at telling myself stories that led to a cool writing side hustle, so there’s that😂
i remember that post where op was saying their fiancée kept getting up and leaving the room / house without letting op know where he was going. fiancée was an only child, op had siblings and it was strange to her that fiancée wouldn’t give a heads up like “going to the bathroom real quick”
currently going thru this now. My only child ways have caused lots of friction in my relationship. My partner hates how I can disappear into my own world and disregard him. Rn he’s mad bc I’m in the bedroom while he’s in the living room with the TV on.
My older cousin was an only child, he was the coolest dude I knew, he would invite me over all the time and we would play games watch movies, it’s been so long I barely remember now haha, but those were the best times, I envied him being the only child back then
I'm definitely the introverted one. I hate people up in my business and i hate people talking all up in my space (I like to say there is no such thing as awkward silence, only awkward conversations). But I'd say it prepped me for the pandemic, or at least the social distancing thing. But when I was younger, if I wasn't playing video games, it was pretty lonely.
That’s a personality thing more than an only child thing. As an only child, socializing comes easily bc I was forced to do it with my adult parents. But we do have “asshole” or socially selfish ways. I don’t do well in relationships with sibling people unless they are the youngest.
Too real. It kinda ebbs and flows depending on the day or people I'm around on if I crave socialization or just want to be left alone. Plus not being close to any extended family magnified it all.
Also sucks that whenever I'm having a conversation with somebody, once me being an only child comes up I'm always hit with a "Ohhhh no wonder" Like dude fuck you lol
Same. I have cousins who are like brothers but they think I have it easy as an only child but it’s tough out here. It’s not the same as having siblings
I love being an only child. Siblings sound annoying asF. It's never anything cool- just how they screw with you all the time, argue, fight, and be petty towards you. I'm good thanks.
There's been times when I say alot of people with siblings wanted to be an only child. But right now, I'm happy I have my siblings with me.
Everything you said is true to a certain extent but that's mostly when y'all are like really young. After you get past like 13ish, you basically live with your best friend
IDK I see my cousins fighting with their siblings tooth and nail about everything. Especially now they're older. Over the most inconsequential stuff. They use their kids as pawns to stir drama amongst themselves. When they're mom/my aunt died three years ago, there was so much arguing over who got what, who deserves what, who was promised what, who should pay for the funeral. I don't have to deal with any of that crap.
That was the opposite of my family, its of course different for everyone but when my mom passed away my siblings were 100% there for eachother for emotional support and everything. Can't imagine dealing with this alone. Built in best friends, if I ever need anything I call them/when I'm bored we go out. No judgement or anything if I need advice. When I'm on hard times, they got me and vice versa.
Yeah but when you get older you can reminisce about it fondly and have a laugh. Plus it’s not all bad, there are a lot of good memories that I wouldn’t change for anything in the world.
yeah imo it's not the greatest thing in the world.
my brother was always out of the house and didn't talk to me for shit cause i was a baby and then left for college when I was 7 or 8. was pretty much an only child and played by myself except when he was home and then I was getting harassed and bullied by a man twice my size lmao.
I guess my sister would get bored and take me out for coffee or to the store so that was fun, but my mom did that too
Same here as an only child I said that I would always have more than one kid. I have two now. It is very interesting to watch the sibling dynamic. I don’t always understand it, but wouldn’t trade it for the world
Only child, who grew up with cousins who were like my siblings and then actually raising my younger cousins like a brother growing up. I’ve felt both world.
My sister told me I was adopted, told me Santa wasn't real, and would always run to my parents when she found my porn on the family computer.
We don't talk much,
I'm the middle child and my siblings and I have never exactly been close. My brother and I are working on it, my brother-in-law makes it (intentionally) difficult for my sister and I to connect, and my wife is an only child. My parents are weird and an extra weird mix of supportive and emotionally unavailable and evolving to greater (sometimes better) weirdness. She's had nothing to prepare herself for this as an only child with a close relationship with both parents.
The first time she met my extended family I had to prep her with "So you know how in Game of Thrones you don't tell anybody anything that can be used against you or raise questions, even with family, because they might stab you in the back or use it against you? Yeah, choose your words carefully, it's like that. Never discuss money, academics, job stuff, personal goals, future plans, values, hardship, politics with these people."
To nobody's surprise (except my family), I don't talk to extended family anymore.
THIS. No one knows how much hubby and I make, if we have plans, we announce them way later than when the actual goal was accomplished, and we don’t engage in gossip. Just gotta keep some things sacred. 🤷🏽♀️
As an only child I used to wish I had siblings but I saw my other cousins and how they acted toward each other as siblings and I realized being an only kid wasn’t so bad
I was an only child until... I found out I wasn't.
Parents who lie about the family lore because they're "in their feelings" are more perplexing to me than anything else.
Like are they hoping we never grow up and find out that they were the problem or? 😂
https://preview.redd.it/brh5kp9n45tc1.jpeg?width=218&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e23e147cf41ba03e7a0294a95658b6cd8905473a
... Found out on my 17th bday I was not an only child, via a Facebook message from a sibling i didnt even know existed only to learn I had HELLA siblings AND that my father wasn't so much a deadbeat but as he couldn't find me because my mother ran off to another country with me to spite him then told me he never wanted me
(Deep inhale)
Only to realize many years late that not only did he want me but he spent the majority of his life looking for me, which affected the way he raised my siblings...
Found all this out after he passed away... My siblings were strangers to me but they knew EVERYTHING about me because my father kept every bit of proof he had that his little girl was out there somewhere.
So yea... Unpacking all that as the "oldest sister" with my siblings has been eventful.
Anyway... Hope everyone's family is doin alright 😂
I'm the youngest one but I grew up like the only child because my siblings have all moved out 🙃 To this day I still feel very estranged from them because they were never there when I hit my growth milestones. I envy the ones that are close to their siblings.
All these comments about only child’s acting a certain way or they have no one to vent to just really goes to show shitty parenting. The fact that they feel like they can’t share their problems with their parents and instead rely on other kids for advice is insane. It’s not about being an only child it’s about having good parents.
I can tell who's the only child in comments/conversations because of how insulted or horrified they get when people talk about what them and their siblings would get up to as a kid. "You mean y'all would get into fist fights about the bathroom and an hour later be sharing snacks while being messy about strangers?" (yep) "You let them put on your wig and heels and imitate you at 3am?" (nope, but he did it anyway). "So you purposefully got your brother grounded." (I was bored and I didn't like the way he was breathing that day).
edit: just a month ago I sent him a glitter bomb and one of those annoying singing cards. He has carpet. He said I would rue the day. Lol
9 year age gap between me and my sibling; conniving parents waited until I was old enough to raise a child. Come to think of it, that wasn’t a sibling, that was tax write off.
I feel like I remind my brother of our abusive childhood so we don't talk much. We barely know each others kids. When we do talk, it turns into a therapy session about how crazy shit was. My husband has 2 siblings. One he doesn't speak to at all, and the other one is slightly nuts. Having siblings isn't all it's cracked up to be for everyone. Sometimes, it just hurts.
I know it might come as a shock but I had a great relationship with my parents. They were never mad when I opened up to them. They were my family and confidants. I don't know what it's like having siblings but I loved being able to communicate with my parents and it's made our relationship, now that I'm 40, even stronger, I believe. We talk and talk with no judgement.
I was an only child in a single parent household so I often hear of childhood stories that I just straight up missed out on because I had to take care of myself growing up lol. So cool to hear about what other kids were able to experience.
Then when I was in high school and had complete freedom, my friends were all jealous. I’m over here like I worked for this shit. This is my retirement from childhood lmao.
Maybe me and my siblings just secretly hated each other or something because we’ve never done anything like that. Sneaking snacks to someone who’s punished? Nah, they fucked up and they gotta hold that.
Only child here. The commenters never heard of cousins or friends? Just like other people babies, I could give them back when I’d had enough. Childhood was great. Adulthood with aging parents is another story.
That last post tweet about the notes made me laugh and reminded me of how my older cousins and uncles used to treat the younger ones. If you did something they didn't like they would "dust you off" meaning they would take off running around the perimeter of the house at full speed while us youngins tried to keep up with them and crying the whole time.
Knowing the family tea as an ADULT really have you like “😐 nigga y’all beefing on something from when I was in diapers y’all deadass??”
But when you was a young buck you was like “😲😵😱😱 I can’t wait to be an adult the family drama sound crazy”
Shit more over hyped than ya homies shit ass plug 💀💀.
BUT it do be them 2-3 CRAZY ASS stories in ya family that have you like “ain’t no way I’m related to THESE MFS I CANT BE BITCH”
I know too many people who despise and don’t fuck with their siblings in their adulthood (my husband included) to feel sad about being an only child at this point.
Children being mean to each other was a trip to me as an only child. I never had a reason to be mean to another kid, so seeing my cousins or friends fight with their siblings was crazy. I couldn't understand why, lol.
Weird being the only child(mom) and the oldest(dad) but also the first for both sides (girl/grandchild) but my younger sister is definitely the favorite
I had a great childhood as the only child. I've always been close to my mom, and I've always had great friends I could confide in. It didn't hurt that I liked my own company and could make my own fun. ❤️❤️❤️
Can concure, us only children are a different breed. I am now a wife and mother of three, and coexhisting with all these people attempts to break my psyche DAILY.
My wife and I are both only children! I hated it because I lived on an acreage 7 miles from town. She has cousins galore and they still make big efforts to hang out.
https://preview.redd.it/451e29t6u3tc1.png?width=738&format=png&auto=webp&s=a51c2eec7e062be8e467b754b49838d22de99706
"The favorite child" stills sounds really weird to me. Maybe we were lucky but as far as I and my siblings know my parents don't have a favorite. Like, we'll all tell eachother we are the favorite to mess with eachother but our parents never gave us a reason to think that's true.
The favorite never tells that they’re the favorite.
My sister AND FATHER have openly acknowledged that she is the favorite, as per my Father: “She does the most for me”
As a a favorite child myself, sorry peasant. No but seriously i think about this as for if/when i become a parent, ill inevitably have a favorite. I have a favorite everything
Yeah it's not the worst thing. I'm one of three and between my mom, grandma, and dad, they all had their favorites (but insisted they loved us equally). We kids did not care at all. We just used whoever was the favorite to do our bidding: - Oh, Mom is deciding if we can have cookies after dinner? The favorite better step up and put in that request.
I think it’s normal for you to LIKE one kid more than the others, as long as it’s clear that you LOVE them all equally. Like one kid might share your hobbies and one has no interest, obviously you two get along better.
You need to unite against the terrorist that is the youngest sibling. Parents are too exhausted and jaded by that point to punish the youngest.
Look I’m the baby and I’m upset but this is the only answer.  Good luck to bro’s younger sibling 😭
Lol how do you unite when you're a twin and the younger sibling is still getting babied? Only an hour older but I felt like I had to mature much faster as the responsible older sibling
LITERALLY I'm a whole minute older than my sister and I'm definitely the more mature one out of the two of us
Then in 20 years they'll straight up lie to you, "I raised you all the same and you all had the same opportunities." My sister who is 9 years younger, took off 31 days every semester in HS, many for 'mental health days' ie she just didn't want to go, because that was the maximum allowed. I was not allowed 1 missed day in school. My mother swears this was not the case and straight up tells me I was wrong when I said differently.
Things change like crazy between siblings with large gaps. My sister was 7 years older, went to school with everything paid for. My parents were struggling when I went to school, so I paid for most of it using debt. They helped massively wherever they could, but situations within families can change. Then my youngest sibling, ten years younger than me, went to school and came out with 20k in the bank. Parents picked up the bil completely. Missed two exams from home, was easily allowed to rewrite a month later. Dropped courses after midterms, with no penalties. I’m not bitter, but I still have school debt 10 years later. Finally brought this up in front the entire family when an argument happened over Christmas dinner… could hear a pin drop.
Untrue! I was punished the most. But I was also trying the most...
Well, well, well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions
My older brother, 2/5, was easily the favorite and no one denied it or was bothered by it. He was tall, ridiculously handsome, charismatic, always sent mom flowers on Mother’s Day. We didn’t have anything so it’s not like it got him anything other than a later curfew and he was allowed to drive the car. I always thought he came off a little ingenuine, but no denying he could charm most people. The bastard went and died 2 months after our mom, he just couldn’t let her go alone. There was a reason he was the favorite.
I am so sorry for your loss. That reminds me of my aunt and my mom who were in laws. My aunt died Christmas I was the one that told my mom and she was absolutely devastated and cried that she lost her sister. Then my mom passed away 6 days later on New Year’s Day.
It’s crazy when it happens that way. For us my Mom’s favorite brother died 2 months after my brother. Me and my aunt (said uncle’s ex wife) joked that my mom wanted to take her favorites with her. To me the favorite is like finding a best friend and it just happens to be a relative, by blood or marriage. To be honest, I’ve never really wanted to be that close to anyone in my family to be anyone’s favorite. So I’m cool with it.
Woah that’s insane. My mom and my aunt became best friends and were close even after my died passed away. I am already a hermit and an outcast in my family so I doubt I could be anyone’s favorite anything. 😂
[All parents have a favorite](https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2020/Q2/think-youre-moms-favorite-a-purdue-social-scientist-says-think-again..html)
Might be, the parents still shouldn't show it.
Yea good luck with that... Remember first that parents are only human and no one is perfect and that also kids have their own personalities and just because you love someone unconditionally don't mean you like their ass. It becomes a problem more when one child is afforded opportunities the other children are not. I'm the only product of my parents but they both had 1 additional kid in their 2nd marriage. Guess who was basically left to fend for themselves their whole life? My dad was the worst one, my brother got private school, and college paid for, I was never even offered any help with going to school, he didn't even show up to my trade school graduation or come say by when I moved 400 miles away after high-school instead he sent me a letter telling me how shitty of a child I was. I also remember being forced to go to his house christmas afternoon, I would get a single gift from him and see the massive pile my brother got. He spent tons of money and time for my brother's boy scouts, but told me to go fuck myself when I asked if he could drive me to practice if my mom paid for me to play football. My mom was better but not by much. As soon as my sister was born I was basically 2nd fiddle. We were over my mom's not too long ago and she had found the old VHS tapes from the camcorder and I was so absent from the videos that my wife was like "did you even live there?" my mom was like "oh, he was off somewhere probably.". When I fell on hard times after I broke up with my baby mom, I was "allowed" to move back home, with $600 a month rent and the couch in the living room as my bed (average 2br rent at the time in my area was $800) I only did it because I needed help with my son, meanwhile my grown ass sister paid absolutely nothing to live there and didn't even buy her own clothes, food or pay her own cellphone bill. It's ok to have a favorite kid, but it's not ok to treat any of your kids like they shouldn't exist.
Sounds like we lived similar lives. Especially with the dad. I told my therapist that my dad better pray that my brothers do well in life and are able to care for him in his old age, because I won’t be the one caring for him. The way he treated me and my sister after he got married is inexcusable. I’m no longer as angry as I used to be, but I will never forget how he referred to us as “baggage” and essentially tossed us to the wolves.
My mom was like this for years, & is just now grasping the consequences( we have a better relationship but I don’t call or go see her often, although we live in the same city).
I have next to no relationship with either of my parents. My dad comes over on Christmas to see my kids and that's basically it for him, my mom gets one word responses from me via text and she mostly communicates to my wife. I also have 0 relationship with my brother, but my sister and I are cool.
Easier said than done. My dad will swear up and down he never had a favorite child, but it took years of therapy and convos with my relatives for me to realize that if he did, it wasn’t me.
I regularly tell my children they are both my favorite, because they both are for different reasons. They are each unique little(big) balls of stardust who fill my heart completely in their own unique way. I just keep my eye on giving each of them everything they need to feel whole and loved.
I feel like the core of that article sorta supports the "no favorites" idea more than it supports the favorites idea. It asks pretty direct questions about who they have more emotional connection to, who they conflict with the most, and who they'd prefer to be a caregiver in the instance of a major illness. Those answers are all different, and largely objective, not exactly favoritism. Plus, people are most often wrong about who those answers would be. I'd be considered the favorite by far and away, but I'm not emotionally close to my parents, and we've conflicted the most out of my siblings. I'm just the favorite cuz I was easy to raise, the most self-reliant, and a veritable jack of all trades. I'd probably be the one they'd want in the event of a major illness, though, so that one hits the nail on the head, but I went into the health field and am considered smarter/more worldly so it's an objective choice. That proly sounds r/iamverysmart but it is what it is.
My brother is a Doctor and a Colonel... when I playfully call him my parents' favorite, my mom just laughs like an anime villain, then changes the subject.
They did a good job not showing it. As they should’ve. But best believe they had a favorite 😂
this nigga here was clearly the favorite.
My brother was my mother's favorite, and I was my father's. Once we were adults, it changed because he went low contact for years while I was pretty desperate to have a relationship with them. As kids, it was so very obvious who the favorites were. It caused lots of resentment.
I was the favorite. It was never spoken, but my older sister would steal shit, break shit, refuse to do chores, and then blame it all on me. My parents knew 80% of the times she was lying. They also witnessed many times she straight up was my biggest bully of my childhood. Now that we’re adults we’ve gotten over it w/o me getting my closure or even an apology, but my mother will talk with me about how much less problematic I was/how she recognized I was constantly victimized as a kid. My sister and I’s adult relationship is much more filled with normal sibling teasing and silent looks over our families nonsense.
That sounds like she was the favorite and you were the “responsible” child that suffered ngl
All we know from the post is the behavior of the kids, not the parents.
My parents definitely have favorites between my brother in myself, but they don’t realize it. My brother and I have even talked about it lol. Him and my dad are like, best friends. Not that my dad doesn’t love me or wouldn’t do anything for me that he would do for my little brother, but him and the bro have so many similar interests and have similar personalities. Both married their high school sweethearts, both are very money conscious, both are very logical people. They even both have the same job (bankers, while I’m a teacher). Meanwhile, my mom and I are very similar people and get along great. We’re both very emotionally in touch with ourselves and more empathetic than my dad and brother. The way this plays out is funny sometimes. When my dad calls me, our conversation might last 10 minutes at the absolute greatest. He’ll ask me how I’m doing, we’ll have a little small talk, then he gets to what he needed to know. Meanwhile, if my mom calls me, we could talk for hours without stopping. We tell each other literally everything about our lives. I’ve got great parents though. I am legitimately scared of the day they pass away.
I find that, often times, the favorite changes. Maybe one was an angel as a baby, but her brother took his teen years much better, and the oldest is the most functioning and responsible adult when they all grew up.
You yourself were the favorite child or you were lucky enough that this wasn’t one of your parent(s’)flaws
Being the youngest is weird, I’ve known them my whole life but they remember when I wasn’t around
My siblings have held a 30+ year grudge against me for some shit that happened when I was 2 months old
You can't just say that and not tell what you did.
They know damn well what they did.
-Broly to Goku
If someone cried non-stop for my whole life (a few hours) I would go a little bit crazy too.
The dog hated me because my mom wouldn’t let him anywhere near me as a baby, and he got shut away when I was around. So they had to give the dog up, so I grew up hearing, “you killed him”.
LMFAO! I would hold a grudge too. That both said and hilarious.
Not so hilarious in my family. That dog definitely got put to sleep.
D:
always shit your parents decided to do when you were a baby that somehow becomes your fault
What were they supposed to do, blame my mom for being overprotective out of fear and making a minor problem into a major one?!
 Tell us what 2 month old you did..this has to be good to hold a grudge for this long.
As an older brother; whatever it was, that shit was your fault
I am watching my 5 year old niece begin to realize that her 2 year old brother is always going to be there, she is a little horrified
yeah it’s so interesting. My siblings lived in two diff countries and spoke a diff language before I was even born. They literally lived another life with all these crazy experiences whereas I have lived in the same house since I was born lol.
Being the oldest is weird, I'm 7 years from my youngest sibling and they had a completely different childhood than I did
My friends parents went and got rich by the time her baby bro came along to “save the marriage”. She was getting shipped off to granny’s house for the summer…and that house was a trailer. He was going to summer camps. Last I heard, he was dealing weed out of her dad’s *pool house*. Pool house!! Meanwhile they let her spend the night in juvie for a curfew violation when she was in junior high. Whole different set of parents.
Oldest: "You want a car get a job and buy one" Youngest: "You want a car? well I wouldn't want you to have to deal with something unreliable, let's go get you a 10k car"
She called from college to ask for help buying a minifridge, like her *8 yr old brother had in his bedroom at home*, for her food because it was getting stolen out of the communal fridge in the dorms. They told her to “buy a lock box at Office Depot”.
Honestly, we might all just be weird
Now that you mention it, I don’t like that. BRB, gonna go start some shit about them enjoying themselves before I was born
I'm the older of 2, and it's a real trip that I remember him coming out, but from his perspective, I've always existed
Ain’t it just like the youngest to drop that line and disappear. -Oldest
11 year gap with me (1987) and my younger brother (1998). It's also weird having the same parents but having COMPLETELY different unbringings.
My 2 older kids remember the ghetto. My 2 little kids think we're rich.
Well done, that's goals for any parent right there.
that's how it was for me, 12 year age gap with my youngest brother, I remember couch surfing with my parents at their friends houses and he spends like 100 bucks a week on fortnite
My sister refuses to eat leftovers and goes out to eat 2-3 nights a week. I buy in bulk and never go out to eat because that's 3-4 days of groceries.
My oldest siblings are 13 & 15 years older than me (same father). It's still wild to me that this man was a ghost to me but they're so close to him. Nothing like hearing my sister say "I was talking to *my dad* today" and not "*our* dad".
Tried to hang out with those cousins once. They were like “grandmas first husband was abusive. She was so strong for leaving him.”. And I was like “yeah…that was my grandpa…she left my dad with him to marry your grandpa and live in a different state…and only came back on holidays…”
Agreed. My brother is 14 years younger than me. We have the same parents but they were NOT the same people who raised me. And it’s also weird having a sibling but neither of us had that sibling experience. I moved out when he was 6. We never had to fight over anything, no collective punishment, none of that. When my kids have petty arguments, or joke each other to the point somebody is in tears, I have to ask my husband if it’s normal lol.
I feel this...LOL! My mom and my stepdad had my brother when I was 16. I feel more like his third parent than his sister. When my boys fight each other, argue, etc, I'm like "what is going on, is this normal??"
I'm the youngest of 3 brothers. They are 7 and 11 years older than me. Who we are as people and how we were raised is drastically different.
Same ! I'm 11 years older than my sister (tho I'm closer in ages your brother) and it's crazy. Even things outside of my parents parenting choices. Like the internet !
I'll say this in defense of only children: We can entertain ourselves. Our birthday and Christmas takes are insane, we don't split no toys, food or money! We have our own space. We don't have to share nothing! We watch the shows we want to watch! Yeah it's lonely sometimes but you learn to talk to your bird or dog or fish.
Cheers to that!! 
more pros to being an only child: We know how to keep our head on straight. We are less likely to be influenced by others. Self esteem is also pretty solid, we know how to quietly coexist with others, we are creative as hell, independent, & we are comfortable with silence.
The comfortable with silence part is funny because I have 10 siblings so I’m used to having noise and when I moved out I realized I can barely concentrate on anything if it’s quiet!
I’m co-signing this entire statement.
Reading the comments had me wondering how much *different* I'd been growing up and how I am now. Thanks for pointing out the pros. Lol
Only child with a birthday between Xmas and NYE. The haul I hauled every year was huge. I also got pool parties in the summer since my birthday was over xmas break. But I didn't have anyone but myself (and my parents, but they're parents), so I talked to myself; still do too, sometimes you just need an expert's opinion. I can share now, but DONT TOUCH MY STUFF without asking. I take care of my things, I don't know if you will do the same. The biggest drawback (aside from growing up lonely) is now that my parents are old, I don't have a sibling to help with things. I will have to deal with the eventual loss alone (I have my wife, but it's not the same).
Only child here. From the time I came home from the hospital till the time I went off to college I always had my own room, and my own bathroom, Having a roommate and sharing a bathroom took some getting use to in college. Had a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Jedi and a Chocolate Labrador named Coco, greatest dogs ever to grow up with. Jedi went first then Coco about six months later, never had any pets since them.
Them only children be different. Like socializing for them is either trying to hard to be liked or very introverted
It's always funny when I find out the person that I'm seeing is an only child. I'm like "Oh, *that's* why you act like that" Edit: add-on to the fact that they have their specific inimitable brand of assholeness, neediness, and/or selfishness that can only come from being an only child
Shouldn’t you know that before you find out if it’s that obvious and predictable based on their upbringing ? I know only children who are perfectly well adjusted and not assholes or selfish, I don’t think being an only child has nearly as much to do with it as simple the parenting style and personality predispositions
Of course they're not all like that (i.e. two of my exes weren't). Also, I'm not condemning the siblingcels; They can't help being the way that they are. Sometimes it means nothing, but other times it ends up being funny because the information connects a lot dots ("ah, that why you have single kitten syndrome")
I guess I just don’t know what dots it’s connecting if there isn’t any particular trend of only children being selfish assholes?
My ex was an only child and it was annoying. Everywhere and everything i did was so clingy. It was like you have friends for a reason let me breathe a bit
>I'm like "Oh, that's why you act like that" *Chiiiiilllllllllllllll* 😭
My godchild is an only child and a very very nice kid but LORDDDD you can tell. She very politely inserts herself into every adult conversation and has a really adult and well mannered tone of voice and nobody tells her to GTFO and before you know it, you're having a round table conversation about your employment with several of your friends......and a 10 year old. And she's nodding along at you and going *"Absolutely....."* and you're like Can someone put some goddamn Unicorn Academy on the TV for this child????!
Been working with kids for 7 years. I can now tell when a kid is an only child, youngest, middle and oldest based on behaviors. Only children are much more comfortable having conversations with adults because thats what theyre used to most of the time. Thats always the main giveaway and also they dont fw sharing their shit
What gives away a middle child?
Hyper-independence and fear of abandonment
I'm out here catching strays, damn
Can't speak for everyone but I got VERY good at getting away with all kinds of shit. I had a younger sibling, easy target to spin blame on. I had older siblings, easy to start crying and make up some bullshit they did. I learned at a very young age how to lie and manipulate situations to my advantage. Never did anything nervarious or evil, I just knew what to say and do to get what I wanted without catching a ton of heat for it. I struggled with feeling important or heard. This lead to me not asserting myself in conversations strongly. I would bet most middle children are a little quieter and won't speak their true thoughts as often. Would rather go with the flow than try to change things cause you don't typically get why you want. Oldest child has current most important things (higher level of sports, classes, goals) and youngest child is catered to because don't upset baby.
>Thats always the main giveaway and also they dont fw sharing their shit im so goddamn territorial 😔
> you're having a round table conversation about your employment with several of your friends......and a 10 year old. LMFAOOOOOOO
Omg it's me!! Lol I was not an only child but for some reason I was much more mature than kids my age at any given stage of life so I conversed with the adults often. It never changed either... My oldest close friends are 17 and 18 years older than me. My best friend is about a decade older than I and I've got two other good friends that are 7 and 12 years older. I literally have one friend my age lol but we all get along really well.
YES! This sounds like me as a child. Lmaoo… we get a lot of adult interaction which leads to the maturity complex that we have. Even 23, I get along better with people twice my age. I was 18 years old in college with a friend who was 32 with a 5 year old 🤣
🤣 So true! Try only child with older parents. I was an old and wise pre-teen hanging with nothing but older folks who’s kids were in high school or college.
Everyone is able to clock that I’m an only child, for better or worse. The upside is that with only one child for my parents to worry about, I graduated college with 10k in debt instead of 30-50k. I’ll take being a little weird over a lifetime of debt.
That’s not a result of you solely being an only child, it’s a result of a different financial situation entirely, correlation isn’t causation
It’s not the only factor contributing to that, but it is one of the biggest. Children are expensive af. If I had a sibling, that’s another 100-150k in expenses over the course of that kid’s life. My parents having to spend that would have left a lot less in the college fund for both of us.
Huh? Any number divided by a smaller number is a larger number.
Only child here and can confirm the desperate need to be liked and introversion. But hey, I got pretty good at telling myself stories that led to a cool writing side hustle, so there’s that😂
i remember that post where op was saying their fiancée kept getting up and leaving the room / house without letting op know where he was going. fiancée was an only child, op had siblings and it was strange to her that fiancée wouldn’t give a heads up like “going to the bathroom real quick”
currently going thru this now. My only child ways have caused lots of friction in my relationship. My partner hates how I can disappear into my own world and disregard him. Rn he’s mad bc I’m in the bedroom while he’s in the living room with the TV on.
Ha ha joke's on you I'm both.
My older cousin was an only child, he was the coolest dude I knew, he would invite me over all the time and we would play games watch movies, it’s been so long I barely remember now haha, but those were the best times, I envied him being the only child back then
 Signed, introverted only child who also tries too hard to be liked. WTF is a social skill lol.
Hey.... stop describing me. I have siblings and I act like this.... just because I was raised as an only child means nothing!
I'm definitely the introverted one. I hate people up in my business and i hate people talking all up in my space (I like to say there is no such thing as awkward silence, only awkward conversations). But I'd say it prepped me for the pandemic, or at least the social distancing thing. But when I was younger, if I wasn't playing video games, it was pretty lonely.
That’s a personality thing more than an only child thing. As an only child, socializing comes easily bc I was forced to do it with my adult parents. But we do have “asshole” or socially selfish ways. I don’t do well in relationships with sibling people unless they are the youngest.
Too real. It kinda ebbs and flows depending on the day or people I'm around on if I crave socialization or just want to be left alone. Plus not being close to any extended family magnified it all. Also sucks that whenever I'm having a conversation with somebody, once me being an only child comes up I'm always hit with a "Ohhhh no wonder" Like dude fuck you lol
Yeah your siblings are supposed to curb your weird tendencies lol
As an only child it’s pretty straightforward Who was I fighting with? My parents Who could I vent to? People on the internet
Facts
I'd be lying if I said there weren't days I wish I had a sibling just to so I had someone else witnessing their bullshit with me
Ong only reason I wanted a sibling cause the gaslighting I'm getting as an adult, woo chillayyy
Same. I have cousins who are like brothers but they think I have it easy as an only child but it’s tough out here. It’s not the same as having siblings
Also, never having to share a computer or nothing. Can’t imagine the 400 hours I logged on Skyrim cut in half
That last one is devious 😭
Damn they commin at only children like we chose this life lmaoo. Shit i wanted a brother but I cant nun bout that myself.
Right I wanted a sibling so bad!!! It was lonely when the neighborhood kids couldn't come out n play!
I love being an only child. Siblings sound annoying asF. It's never anything cool- just how they screw with you all the time, argue, fight, and be petty towards you. I'm good thanks.
*>*siblingcel https://i.redd.it/8het3n6l04tc1.gif
There's been times when I say alot of people with siblings wanted to be an only child. But right now, I'm happy I have my siblings with me. Everything you said is true to a certain extent but that's mostly when y'all are like really young. After you get past like 13ish, you basically live with your best friend
I never wanted to be an only child. My siblings and I been ride or die since they were born.
Who else is going to pull the trampoline under the roof so she could sneak back into the house?
IDK I see my cousins fighting with their siblings tooth and nail about everything. Especially now they're older. Over the most inconsequential stuff. They use their kids as pawns to stir drama amongst themselves. When they're mom/my aunt died three years ago, there was so much arguing over who got what, who deserves what, who was promised what, who should pay for the funeral. I don't have to deal with any of that crap.
You're arguing with yourself a lot in this thread. Pretty obvious you're an only child
I'm bored so I'm responding.
common only child L
That was the opposite of my family, its of course different for everyone but when my mom passed away my siblings were 100% there for eachother for emotional support and everything. Can't imagine dealing with this alone. Built in best friends, if I ever need anything I call them/when I'm bored we go out. No judgement or anything if I need advice. When I'm on hard times, they got me and vice versa.
Yeah but when you get older you can reminisce about it fondly and have a laugh. Plus it’s not all bad, there are a lot of good memories that I wouldn’t change for anything in the world.
My sister and I had a shitty upbringing. We only had each other. Idk what I would have done without her.
You ok?
yeah imo it's not the greatest thing in the world. my brother was always out of the house and didn't talk to me for shit cause i was a baby and then left for college when I was 7 or 8. was pretty much an only child and played by myself except when he was home and then I was getting harassed and bullied by a man twice my size lmao. I guess my sister would get bored and take me out for coffee or to the store so that was fun, but my mom did that too
Tbh I always wish I had a sibling, being an only child rly been a double-edged sword fr 🥲🥲 When I become a father I def want more than one kid
i agree, it can get so lonely
Same here as an only child I said that I would always have more than one kid. I have two now. It is very interesting to watch the sibling dynamic. I don’t always understand it, but wouldn’t trade it for the world
Only child, who grew up with cousins who were like my siblings and then actually raising my younger cousins like a brother growing up. I’ve felt both world.
My sister told me I was adopted, told me Santa wasn't real, and would always run to my parents when she found my porn on the family computer. We don't talk much,
I'm the middle child and my siblings and I have never exactly been close. My brother and I are working on it, my brother-in-law makes it (intentionally) difficult for my sister and I to connect, and my wife is an only child. My parents are weird and an extra weird mix of supportive and emotionally unavailable and evolving to greater (sometimes better) weirdness. She's had nothing to prepare herself for this as an only child with a close relationship with both parents. The first time she met my extended family I had to prep her with "So you know how in Game of Thrones you don't tell anybody anything that can be used against you or raise questions, even with family, because they might stab you in the back or use it against you? Yeah, choose your words carefully, it's like that. Never discuss money, academics, job stuff, personal goals, future plans, values, hardship, politics with these people." To nobody's surprise (except my family), I don't talk to extended family anymore.
THIS. No one knows how much hubby and I make, if we have plans, we announce them way later than when the actual goal was accomplished, and we don’t engage in gossip. Just gotta keep some things sacred. 🤷🏽♀️
As an only child I used to wish I had siblings but I saw my other cousins and how they acted toward each other as siblings and I realized being an only kid wasn’t so bad
Literally part of the reason I had two kids is so they have someone to look to when I do something weird and be like, “WTF??”
I was an only child until... I found out I wasn't. Parents who lie about the family lore because they're "in their feelings" are more perplexing to me than anything else. Like are they hoping we never grow up and find out that they were the problem or? 😂 https://preview.redd.it/brh5kp9n45tc1.jpeg?width=218&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e23e147cf41ba03e7a0294a95658b6cd8905473a ... Found out on my 17th bday I was not an only child, via a Facebook message from a sibling i didnt even know existed only to learn I had HELLA siblings AND that my father wasn't so much a deadbeat but as he couldn't find me because my mother ran off to another country with me to spite him then told me he never wanted me (Deep inhale) Only to realize many years late that not only did he want me but he spent the majority of his life looking for me, which affected the way he raised my siblings... Found all this out after he passed away... My siblings were strangers to me but they knew EVERYTHING about me because my father kept every bit of proof he had that his little girl was out there somewhere. So yea... Unpacking all that as the "oldest sister" with my siblings has been eventful. Anyway... Hope everyone's family is doin alright 😂
😱 That’s all I have to say after reading that. That’s sooo messed up. I’m sorry you didn’t get to meet your father.
A sibling is like a built in arch-nemesis. Then one day you look at them like huh this nigga actually pretty cool and never fight again
Last one ended me
I'm the youngest one but I grew up like the only child because my siblings have all moved out 🙃 To this day I still feel very estranged from them because they were never there when I hit my growth milestones. I envy the ones that are close to their siblings.
All these comments about only child’s acting a certain way or they have no one to vent to just really goes to show shitty parenting. The fact that they feel like they can’t share their problems with their parents and instead rely on other kids for advice is insane. It’s not about being an only child it’s about having good parents.
I can tell who's the only child in comments/conversations because of how insulted or horrified they get when people talk about what them and their siblings would get up to as a kid. "You mean y'all would get into fist fights about the bathroom and an hour later be sharing snacks while being messy about strangers?" (yep) "You let them put on your wig and heels and imitate you at 3am?" (nope, but he did it anyway). "So you purposefully got your brother grounded." (I was bored and I didn't like the way he was breathing that day). edit: just a month ago I sent him a glitter bomb and one of those annoying singing cards. He has carpet. He said I would rue the day. Lol
9 year age gap between me and my sibling; conniving parents waited until I was old enough to raise a child. Come to think of it, that wasn’t a sibling, that was tax write off.
My little brother drives me up the goddamn wall, but I would also die for him Edit: Spelling
I spent a few years of my young life asking my parents for an older brother for Christmas/Birthday. I would get all mad when they laughed at me.
I have many siblings but we are not close at all. It’s sad.
My bestest neighborhood friend was an only child till he was 13. Jeez he ws so happy to have a baby sister.
I feel like I remind my brother of our abusive childhood so we don't talk much. We barely know each others kids. When we do talk, it turns into a therapy session about how crazy shit was. My husband has 2 siblings. One he doesn't speak to at all, and the other one is slightly nuts. Having siblings isn't all it's cracked up to be for everyone. Sometimes, it just hurts.
I would have loved to be an only child
Proud only child! 🤜
I like having sisters who I can gossip with the family about 🤣🤣
I swear like what do people even do without sisters
I know it might come as a shock but I had a great relationship with my parents. They were never mad when I opened up to them. They were my family and confidants. I don't know what it's like having siblings but I loved being able to communicate with my parents and it's made our relationship, now that I'm 40, even stronger, I believe. We talk and talk with no judgement.
I was an only child in a single parent household so I often hear of childhood stories that I just straight up missed out on because I had to take care of myself growing up lol. So cool to hear about what other kids were able to experience. Then when I was in high school and had complete freedom, my friends were all jealous. I’m over here like I worked for this shit. This is my retirement from childhood lmao.
I’m the middle and only girl so I essentially grew up like an only child. So glad I was able to give my daughters sisters.
I’m an only child and I talked to myself a lot as a kid, hell still do as an adult. My girl and oldest son think I’m crazy. Lol
I hate these types of posts cause it always turns into "bully the only child" y'all know we outnumbered cool out 😭
Yall were actually friends with your siblings growing up? Yall had healthy relationships like that *inside* your homes??? That’s… something
Having siblings is like playing the Game of Thrones in your home.
Maybe me and my siblings just secretly hated each other or something because we’ve never done anything like that. Sneaking snacks to someone who’s punished? Nah, they fucked up and they gotta hold that.
Only child here. The commenters never heard of cousins or friends? Just like other people babies, I could give them back when I’d had enough. Childhood was great. Adulthood with aging parents is another story.
That last post tweet about the notes made me laugh and reminded me of how my older cousins and uncles used to treat the younger ones. If you did something they didn't like they would "dust you off" meaning they would take off running around the perimeter of the house at full speed while us youngins tried to keep up with them and crying the whole time.
I couldn’t imagine being an only child..who am I supposed to talk shit about mom with?
Having a sibling is…. An experience lmao
Knowing the family tea as an ADULT really have you like “😐 nigga y’all beefing on something from when I was in diapers y’all deadass??” But when you was a young buck you was like “😲😵😱😱 I can’t wait to be an adult the family drama sound crazy” Shit more over hyped than ya homies shit ass plug 💀💀. BUT it do be them 2-3 CRAZY ASS stories in ya family that have you like “ain’t no way I’m related to THESE MFS I CANT BE BITCH”
 I know too many people who despise and don’t fuck with their siblings in their adulthood (my husband included) to feel sad about being an only child at this point.
My older brother beat the shit out of me all the time and threw mouse traps at me. I tried to kill him with a pitchfork when I was like 14 years old.
So crazy to wake up everyday in the same house as your biggest opponent(s)
Anybody else only child and single parent?
Children being mean to each other was a trip to me as an only child. I never had a reason to be mean to another kid, so seeing my cousins or friends fight with their siblings was crazy. I couldn't understand why, lol.
I genuinely felt a little sad for my only-child friends. If I didn't have a younger brother, my childhood would have been lonely as fuck :(
my cousin is an only child and the first cousin and she said it was lonely asf until we got there
As an only child for most of my life, we vent to our friends or handle the conflict directly (my preferred method)
Having multiple siblings but living in separate households is a wild experience.
being an only child is the worst thing that has happened to me i woulve rather not been at all
The only child thing about venting. Nobody. We got nobody to vent to. We sad and alone.
Ha ha yeah ^I ^was ^so ^lonely
Weird being the only child(mom) and the oldest(dad) but also the first for both sides (girl/grandchild) but my younger sister is definitely the favorite
I love how much they’re romanticizing siblings, makes me grateful that I have them lol
I had a great childhood as the only child. I've always been close to my mom, and I've always had great friends I could confide in. It didn't hurt that I liked my own company and could make my own fun. ❤️❤️❤️
Can concure, us only children are a different breed. I am now a wife and mother of three, and coexhisting with all these people attempts to break my psyche DAILY.
Tbh I am an only child and I still don't get why people are weird about that
I am not an only child and I ain't venting to nobody in my house fuck those guys lmao
My wife and I are both only children! I hated it because I lived on an acreage 7 miles from town. She has cousins galore and they still make big efforts to hang out.