flowers in the attic

Friday, August 22, 2008

reading The Kite Runner, i wondered if all parents secretly wish for their kids to somehow turn out like themselves, if they will unconsciously favour the kid whom everyone says "he looks like you, he has your eyes!" or "she has your good/bad sense of direction!"

and what will they do when their child has no seemingly distinct similarities as themselves, will they then desperately try to instil in the kid a passion for sports or music that the parents themselves are passionate for?

of course all parents love their children (and may i add that in my humble opinion, i think mothers love their children more than fathers do! haha) but might it be that parents would unconsciously love the child more who exhibits more similarities to them, than if the child who does not show any?

and since i'm on this, do parents favour the kid who is better-looking (or more talented,for that matter) than his or her sibling? of course, this is subjective and anyway siblings look alike (duh), but you got to admit that even among (most) siblings there is probably one or two who receive the better genes - the one with the bigger eyes, who is taller and slimmer, or the one with a natural flair in soccer or playing the piano.

i don't know if any research has been done in this area, and of course it might be tough (first we got to define what "good-looking" is and then determine the better-looking child, as well as the repercussions that might follow - the "not-so-good-looking" or "not-so-talented" child becomes inferior, parents feel guilty about being unconsciously biased blabla) but this would make for a pretty good research paper, yes?

❤ enhui, 1:34 AM 2 comments