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PROVO -- Do you have a favorite child, and do you admit it? If you take a good look at your kids, is there one you spend a little more time with, give some extra privileges to?
"Parents do have favorite children, and they do admit it," said BYU Family Life Associate Professor Suzanne Olsen Roper.
Roper says that's not a good thing. The biggest problem is when children perceive the favoritism; it impacts the parent-child relationship and the relationship among siblings.
"You look at each individual child and find what their strengths are and then try and play up those strengths with that particular child, and then avoid comparison between children," Roper said.
She says some social workers have even noticed problems later in life when parents are old and need care from children who feel they weren't the favorite child.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
