Why people always think that the youngest child is spoiled and having so much fun?
By Valentina
@valherma00 (656)
Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
January 19, 2026 11:21am CST
When, in fact, that isn't always the case.
From what I witnessed, heard and read, being a black sheep is not easy at all. Also, many of us here have different experiences.
What i know is if you're the last child, it's tough to fill in the shoes of the first child. Many times you are misunderstood and not taken serious and it's affecting your self-esteem. People may say you are cute but noone is saying how capable you are. Many know you as someone's brother or sister, just that.
Teachers brag about your sibling,-s when they hear you are related but, that's it, you are not mentioned at all. You are getting the books and the clothes from your older sibling or siblings but you are not feeling bad, you think that's what you deserve, nothing new which, by time, gets to your brain and feelings of worthlessness tend to appear.
You rarely ask for help and when you do, you are told to handle it on your own, especially by older sibling. Your older siblings never or rarely treated you to a meal or something, you did that for them. For some things, you thanked your siblings a couple of times, while you only received one thank you.
Relatives or parents don't dare to say something to your older sibling, but can shove many things it on you. You are equally spoiled as your older sibling but, it seems, you get worse reputation than the older sibling. It seems that the youngest child can enroll to any school or university cause, there are no expectations for this child. If you make it, it's okay. If not, it's also okay. Everything is fun with the youngest but the youngest needs support and guidance too and is confused about its role.
So, yes, i believe it's not that easy to be the youngest, number two or the last child.
What do you think, mylotters?
I know we have different experiences;from your country,social and other factors,etc.
4 people like this
5 responses
@LadyDuck (491155)
• Italy
3h
@valherma00 - Male children are always Moms' favorite children.
1 person likes this
@valherma00 (656)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
2h
@LadyDuck they are.my late grandmother mentioned so many times,my son this,my son that.even i had too much hearing that,even though her son was/is my father
.here, on some islands and on the south of my country,men pray that they have only sons,not daughters.people are sometimes messed up,awful!
.here, on some islands and on the south of my country,men pray that they have only sons,not daughters.people are sometimes messed up,awful!1 person likes this
@valherma00 (656)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
3h
As i said at the beginning of my post, we all must have different experiences.what is one family,might not be in other.also,it depends of the country,even region,male/female, the year and such.ah,male children,worshiped here as well.sorry.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (82093)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
16h
While I agree with a lot of what you've said, you're only higlighting the negative side to being a last born. A negative that is no one's fault, except maybe time, that often makes a child left is out, is a younger child has to wait to do something an older child could already do.
That being said, life isn't always roses of gold for older siblings, either. In some cases in multi-child housholds, older children often become the babysitter for their younger siblings. Which can often cause resentment especially when the older child might want to hang out with their friends.
But life isn't all negative, either. My husband has an older sister, and he grew up well-adjusted. He suffered from depression, and sucicidal tendcies before he met me, but that had nothing with being a last born.
Sometimes it's a net positive to being told it's okay if you succeed or fail. We need to learn while we're young failure is okay, and failing is a good thing.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (82093)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
1h
@valherma00 Well, I hate to break it to you, in terms of failure and disappoitment, there's been a shift dramatically in how society is starting to view up. I grew up in a time where you either won or lost a compition. Now a days, it's more common to give participation ribbons for just showing up. People are becoming afraid to disipline their children. Now, every child suddenly has some nero-devergent disorder.
Again, not in all casses. But, this is a shift that I'm seeing more and more. Adults today don't know respect, disipline and pain.
You might think things like second-hand and hand-me-downs crushes a chiled's spirt, but it's not as harmful as you're trying to make it sound. You only highlighted the negative pssivble impact of those things, but if there really is this balance, the younger siblig is learning valuable life lessons that the older one isn't. By getting everything first, can create a sense of entitlement. If the parents treat hand-me-downs and second-hand clothes and toys as a bad thing, then a younger child might start to feel it's a bad thing.
If a parent treats a child badly for failing, then the child will grow up thinking failure is bad. It's how you parent your kids. And age or birth order has nothing to do with it.
Again the older sibling will get to do things first, but that is biology, nothing more. ANd in some families, the gap isn't a huge one.
2 people like this
@valherma00 (656)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
3h
It may appear negative to you but,to me,i wanted to show some more sympathy towards youngest children.there are so many factors from the country to gender and that's why i wrote at the beginning that our experiences must be different.also,not all older siblings take care of baybysitting and i think they never should have.hopefully,today,maybe it's not happening the way it had. This is a portrait of the youngest,just that.i wish every child,whether older or younger hears that failing is okay and that siblings support each other and not in the most cases, that there is unhealthy competition,jelaousy or even hate.
1 person likes this
@valherma00 (656)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
33m
@kaylachan again,it's not all negative,as you see it and there is no need to be a devil advocate 
ah,these generations,i can't comment them,they are aliens for me
ah,these generations,i can't comment them,they are aliens for me1 person likes this
@xstitcher (37574)
• Petaluma, California
19h
I'm the oldest of two, and my brother seems to think I got more attention (maybe to some point I did) because of all my health issues as a child.
1 person likes this
@valherma00 (656)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
3h
I'm sorry you had health issues.if i'm not intruding,do you still have these issues?i had a tough allergy as a child.by time,it got better but i remember going to doctors too many times and i hated it.yes,that attention factor breaks the supposed harmony between siblings.
@xstitcher (37574)
• Petaluma, California
42m
@valherma00 No, the last surgery I had when I was a child I was 11 years old.
@DaddyEvil (165956)
• United States
21h
I don't know. I wasn't the youngest or the oldest child. I was number 15 out of 16 children. My older brothers said I was spoiled because mom bought a milking machine when it was my turn to milk the cows twice a day but my brothers didn't care or want to understand that I had arthritis in my hands and had trouble milking the cows. (Mom told them it was none of their business and that really made them happy.)
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (165956)
• United States
1h
@valherma00 We'd need at least 15 more kids to make up one school class. 
Thanks. Arthritis rarely bothers me now unless I'm doing the same thing a lot...
Thanks. Arthritis rarely bothers me now unless I'm doing the same thing a lot...@valherma00 (656)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
3h
That's one school class here,15children
i'm so sorry you had arthritis at such a young age and sorry you weren't understood right.that factor of jelaousy or attention is so strong between siblings.i mean,chinese dynasties are coming to my mind
i'm so sorry you had arthritis at such a young age and sorry you weren't understood right.that factor of jelaousy or attention is so strong between siblings.i mean,chinese dynasties are coming to my mind2 people like this
@valherma00 (656)
• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)
3h
I wonder do others pressure them or that is within them,perhaps.in some families,there is even no pressure but we all have different experiences and there are so many factors.watching Godfather movie recently,i forgot,was Fredo the oldest or Sonny?
1 person likes this
