The Perks of being the Least Favorite Kid
By: Keara Lou
Tags: Life Lessons, Family, Advice, Self, Life

The Perks of being the Least Favorite Kid

It’s better than being the favorite

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Not everyone is going to be the parent’s favorite. No matter how many times the parents tell you they don’t have favorites, they’re lying. Kids are way more perceptive than parents think they are, and they know all the signs of the favorite kid.

And then there’s the one kid neither parent really likes. The one that notices their parents’ disinterest in their hobbies and interests. This kid never does right by either parent. They notice when they other ones get praised for doing the same exact things.

If you’re one of those least favorite kids, there’s a choice for you. You can spend the rest of your life wondering why they’ll never like you, or you can take advantage of the surprising perks no one told you about.

No one wants you to know that being the least favorite is better than being the favorite. But how? How could something like your parents not liking you be turned into something positive?

You learn quickly approval is overrated

It’s okay to want approval from your parents. It’s not okay to rely on that approval as self-worth.

When you’re the kid no one likes, you learn it doesn’t matter what you do. No one’s going to like any life decision you make. So you might as well do what you want. Who cares about what anyone else thinks?

Might as well go to that school that’s three hours away! Take that job that’s on the other side of the planet! Yeah, they’ll be asking why you can’t be closer. Or why you can’t just do the same job closer to home. In the end, it’s your life. It’s not up to them how you live your life.

Your newfound independence makes you more confident

Despite both parents and siblings breaking out the popcorn to watch you fail, you succeed. Because of that, you learn new skills you would’ve never learned if you listened to your parents.

If you’re really eager to see what’s in the world, you learn how to live in a completely different country. Learn the language and how to navigate life without anyone visiting and seeing for themselves.

You know you can do well. As a result, you have newfound confidence you never thought you’d see in yourself. People notice that confidence and they admire it. Even if they never admit it to you.

The best part of this perk is you become the most interesting family member. You did all the things you wanted to do, and now you’ve got a bunch of crazy stories to tell. Other people get excited to hear about what you have to say.

Your siblings will never admit it, but you’ve become the new life of the party, and they’re all jealous of you now.

You’re constantly exceeding expectations because the worst is always expected of you.

The most annoying part of anything you do when you’re the least favorite is the initial fear when you tell a parent you’re doing something. Someone’s always got something negative to say about anything you do in life. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get that one parent that gets a bunch of family members to help them gang up against you on your life decisions.

That makes every single achievement you do feel that much sweeter. When they expect you to fail, you succeed with flying colors. Over time, they do stop trying to talk you out of things. They eventually see you’ve made the right decision.

If they’re still not there yet, you just keep doing what you’re doing to prove them wrong. It takes forever, but they do get there.

When your parents finally tell you they’re proud of you, you know they mean it.

It doesn’t come often, but your parents will tell you they’re proud. In the case of the least favorite kid, it happens so rarely they’re not sure how to process this information.

Sometimes, movies are true. Every once in a great while, the least favorite kid will tear up when they hear their parents finally tell their child that despite the differences, they are proud. Even when they’re way past the point of wanting approval, it does feel good to hear it sometimes.

If you are that least favorite kid, don’t worry. It does get better over time. Will parents understand you eventually? Probably not. But they will one day see that they’ve raised a kid all right.