For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for October 09, 2013

But sadly a few years later, they end up with another girl.

Hard to argue with that logic!

I was thinking that I wish I had come up with that for my older brother when we were kids, but then I realized it wouldn’t work because we have 4 older siblings: 2 boys, 2 girls.

Yes really it is all Mom & Dads fault

And his answer should be, “Obviously I’m perfect because they didn’t need another boy!”

Yeah, but that had me first! So that makes boys better!

Oh the logic of children.

“When God made Adam , She/He was only practicing; Eve was the improved model!”

Was he made in USA and she Made in China?

Right! Tell that ‘boy sperm’, “Swim faster! Swim faster!”

Can’t argue with that logic…or can you?

No, that came later. Lizzie was about eight, I think, maybe nine.

Lynn’s Notes:

When the Smother’s Brothers did that routine: “Mom liked you more than she liked me,” it was no joke. Those of us who truly felt like the family disappointment saw this skit as confirmation that inequality was a reality for many kids. In our “British” family, boys were definitely preferred!

A brother, two sisters, and then me. I suspect, my unofficial name was “Quits.”

Liz isn’t using logic correctly. The parents may have wanted to try a girl since they already had a boy & the result could have been that they preferred the boy. Michael could say, “They tried one of each, how do you know they don’t like the boy better? Let’s ask them!”

They might also have thought Michael was perfect so no need to have another boy to compete w/him. A girl would be no threat to his perfection. Not true, but would make a nice retort from Michael.

They might have also preferred boys since they chose to have one first. If that had been their only kid, it would have been their first choice gender. Liz is only second choice & Michael could have retorted to that effect.

It’s the rare family that doesn’t have sibling rivalries. And they don’t always have to be just negative events. Going through some of those verbal battles can get you ready for the fact that, out in the real world, you will have rivals and you will encounter competitors (for jobs, for significant others) who won’t hesitate to use hurtful words or even lies to beat you to a goal. No family is perfect, but parents who are able to disguise the fact that they might have ‘favorites’ among children are much to be preferred.

When my father died and the family gathered together to remember him, my 2 sisters and I discovered that each of us thought we were his favorite – even though he never said so. We all feel so grateful to have grown up with a Dad who was able to make each of us feel so loved.

Isn’t Lizzie a bit young to already be fluent in female logic? The world may never recover……..

Ah, sibling logic.. That was a common problem with our family. My younger sister used to call me “the prototype,” she was “spare parts”… it was a whole argument.