If you were the least favourite child, what's your life like now?

[Unsurprisinglysurprising]

I had counselling in the past. I have in many ways accepted my childhood for what it was. I have kind of forgiven but I certainly haven't forgotten. The favouritism is still apparent though I have turned spotting it into an amusement for my own sanity.

From the outside my family probably appeared normal. We had a nice house, in a nice place but I wasn't the only one damaged by my childhood. It's evident that my siblings didn't come out of it unscathed but I got treated really quite badly, for no apparent reason, in a way my siblings didn't. I did well at school. I was never in trouble. I was well-behaved, though I didn't always react well to the way I was treated.

Ironically I am now in many ways closest to the parent who treated me worst. It's not an emotional closeness but I feel I have responsibiities to them that my siblings don't bear the burden of. That concerns me. How have I ended up in this role when my siblings who didn't suffer as I did have walked away? Also, why does my parent still display negative behaviours towards me when in many ways they need me around?

Also, having DC myself I really cannot understand how I was treated. I wouldn't cause the suffering inflicted on me to anyone, never mind my own child.

I'm aware of the toxic families threads. I was just interested to hear from someone who had been treated very differently from their siblings as I've never met anyone IRL.

Thanks for the kind words @seniorschoolmum. I have a loving relationship with my son which I'm eternally grateful for. I am trying to carve a life for myself and ds after breaking up with my husband of 12 years. I have a lot to be grateful for. It's just hard as we can never escape our childhoods, we can only accept and make peace with it all.

I too was the least favourite. Middle of three, two girls and a boy. Boy was the golden child, sister and I abused but me faaaaar more. Abuse was physical and high risk, drowning, pushed downstairs etc. To,d many many times I hate you, I wish you'd never effing been born while held up against wall by throat.

But now? Well, what saved me. Firstly, getting away. No contact with her as of 24. Rebuilt my life, like so many others have. Massive factor was work colleagues and surrogate parents, whom I met as their lodger for six years. I basically joined their family. They met late in life, she had two children older than I and he had none. So now I am the youngest! And I love it. They have been a massive positive factor in my life.

I won't care for her when she gets old. My sister, whom I now text after ten years of nothing, wants to confront her. The rules are, by text only, over a period of a few months and not too taxing for her. Pff! Pathetic.

I was the eldest and suffered years of emotional and physical abuse. I was always told that I was ugly, stupid etc. I was also left to run the house and look after her and my the siblings, this was at the detriment to my education.

Now, I'm the most successful in terms of career, relationship, education and finances. My other siblings always had everything done for them whereas I had to fight for everything.

My "mother" died a few years ago and I felt nothing. I had been NC for a few years and it was a relief when she eventually died.