Parents as Mediators
Parents as Mediators
Blatantly favoring one child over another harms the self-esteem of the child who comes out on the bottom, even as it harms the preferred child by engendering feelings of guilt. Most parents rightly assume that it is wrong to play favorites. Unfortunately, many take pains to reassure all of their children of their love by bending over backward to treat all of their children the same, which escalates competition rather than lessening it.