Journal #4

Family is everything! How many times have you heard that growing up? If you are anything like me then you have probably heard it more than you have heard your own name. Growing up I was the only girl out of the four children in my house, and the parental favoritism was clear. “Parental favoritism: whereby one or both parents allocate an unfair amount of valuable resources to one child over others. This may include intangible forms of affection, such as statements of love, praise, undue patience (letting one child “get away with anything”), and emotional support.” (McCornack and Morrison 348) 

My youngest brother was diagnosed severely autistic when I was a child, requiring almost all of my parents attention, and as we were only about four years apart the attention came to him when I needed it most. He only knew how to communicate through sign language as a toddler and would not learn to speak verbally until about age four. He would not eat pretty much anything aside from sweet potatoes, or as he got older, Mac and cheese (but only specific brands). He fell behind in school almost immediately, drawing more and more of my parents time, and by this point now my older siblings time as my parents would be at work or having to go out for groceries, etc. As a child I felt as if I was not worthy of my family’s time and because of this it has caused me trust and abandonment issues. However, I am old enough now to be able to look back at that time and see my parents really just had a lot on their plates trying to take care of four children, three of which had disabilities or special needs. They did their best trying to split up their time, but understandably having to give a majority of their attention to making sure my brother was okay and able to grow up and live the best life he possibly could.