DON'T SHOW FAVORITISM TO ANY OF YOUR CHILD

Every child resembles each of his parents in many ways. It may be that the child In families where there are several children, relationship often becomes strained because parents show favoritism to one child above another. Children are quick to detect evidences of favoritism, but there is little the child can do about it. Parents should caution each other occasionally, however, regarding the possibility of permitting such a condition to develop and exist in their home. The basis for favoritism may date back to circumstances preceding the birth of the child, or may depend on some of the child’s personality traits, by which the parent becomes more sympathetic with one child than another. Father and mother have equal parts to play in determining the hereditary make-up of a child. Therefore looks like his father, but it may also be that he has a disposition like that of his mother. Certain of his features resembles those of his father and others those of his mother. Even the way the child thinks and reacts depend quite on the traits that the child has inherited. Some parents tend to love the child that looks or behave like them more. Before doing something for one child, the parent should ask himself, “Am I in a position to do this same thing, or its equivalent for the other children? if the answer is no, the parent should change his plans so that all children may be treated alike. The showing of favoritism is harmful to children. it is harmful both to the child who is favored and to the child against whom there is discrimination. The favored child, as he approaches maturity, may have learned to be so dependent upon

dependent upon the parent who has been overindulgent that he is poorly prepared to meet the realities of life. The discriminated child, on the other hand, may have developed the feeling that he is inferior to his brother or his sister, and so become victim of an inferiority complex. Partiality among the children also has its undesirable effects on the relationship of one parent with the other. Often each parent will select a favorite from among the children, the mother selecting the child that the father does not favor and vice versa. The situation causes strained relations between the parents, just as it does between the children. Even when the favored child leaves home, the rivalries and antagonism which have been developed between parents and other children may be difficult to resolve that the parents will no longer find each other’s companionship desirable. In some cases the expectant mother worries about whether the child will be normal. Another consideration of serious nature especially in undeveloped countries of the world, which provokes consideration speculation, is whether the child will be a boy or a girl. There is now scientific means of determining which it will be. The prospective parents can then go for scanning to remove the suspense. There have been cases, of course, in which either the husband or the wife centered so much expectation on the child being a boy or a girl that it was with difficulty that the disappointed parent became reconciled to the circumstance. In isolated cases these disappointments have carried on even into the later years of the child’s life leading to discrimination. It is unfortunate as well as foolish, therefore, that a parent should even harbor the thought of resentment against a child who happens to be of a different sex than he preferred.

For those who insist that their child must be a son they should take note that when the word, “greatness” is mentioned, Mrs. Golda Meir’s name immediately comes to the forefront. Her commitment to her country and her people was the paragon of patriotism. Born 1898 in Kiev, in then USSR, she ended up as the one of the greatest Prime Minister, Israel ever had. She voluntarily resigned from office in 1973. The great women called it quit when the ovation was still loud. It is long women began to inch their way up the social, political, and economic ladder, but recently there have been tremendous increase in such attainment. Germany has a woman Chancellor right now, the first in the country in person of Angela Merkel. Michelle Bachehlet has been elected the Chilean President. Nigeria has two female Supreme Court Justices. The first to be appointed was Honorable Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, and was later followed be Honorable Justice Olufunlola Oyelola. Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won a significant victory to become the President of Liberia, Africa’s first female President. The lists of successful women are endless. With the facts before us is there any reason to discriminate against the girl child? There are equally endless lists of successful men, so there is no reason to discriminate against male children either. Whatever be the sex of your child get him or her properly trained and you will have no regret whatsoever. Both sexes are capable of greatness. Greatness is not a preserve of one sex.