Mom Always Liked You Best

mom likes you best

It still cracks me up to visualize the cover of 1965 Smothers Brothers 8th comedy album ” Mom Always Liked You Best.”

The cover photograph shows Dick surrounded by a dog, a wagon, a scooter and many other toys while Tom is sitting there with just his chicken.

disinherited.com has a vehicle with this expression on the trunk, only changed to “Mom Always Loved You Best” just to inflame the sibling rivalry situation a bit more. It invariably is noticed by many a driver behind  observed laughing  in the mirror.

It is a universal human need to seek parental approval and love -lasting even to some’s death beds, with many more making it into an estate litigators office after the last parent passes away.

Sibling rivalry can be an enormous factor on ones emotional health and happiness in life, let alone bitter rivals in estate disputes over the parents assets.

On some subliminal level, parental assets equate to parental love, and siblings typically hate to see one get more than the other.

Studies show that  children are sensitive from the age of one year to differences in parental treatment.

From 18 months on siblings can understand family rules and know how to comfort and be kind to each other.

By 3 years years old, children have a sophisticated grasp of social rules, can evaluate themselves in relation to their siblings, and know how to adapt to circumstances within the family.

The problem occurs when the rivalry often continues not just throughout childhood , but into adulthood .

Sibling relationships can change dramatically for better or worse  over the years.

While events such as a parent’s illness may bring siblings closer together, a  marriage may drive them apart, particularly if the in-law relationship is strained.

Approximately one-third of adults describe their relationship with siblings as rivalrous or distant.

However, rivalry often lessens over time with  80 percent of siblings over age 60 reporting they  enjoy close ties.

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