The Scapegoated Child In The Family

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   gmwilliamsposted 12 years ago

   There is a phenomena called the scapegoated child.   This is the child who is singled out for differential treatment of the worst kind by parents and/or other siblings.   Reasons for a child being scapegoated by their families vary from either being unwanted to just being different from other members of the family.   Many scapegoated children suffer all types of horrendous abuse at the hands of the parents.   This treatment often have quite damaging effects on the child.   What is your take on this subject?

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2. 77

   mypleasurefantasyposted 12 years ago

   I found this incredibly interesting. Ive noticed that my husband treats his son different than mine when they are together and my son has noticed. Its interesting though to know there is a name for it. I feel, that adults who find the need to instill this behavior and do nothing to stop or prevent it shoildnt be parents, or those that know no better to go to counseling for it. I think this behavior is something that people should definitely be educated on, so that preventative methods can be put in place.

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   1. 84

      gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      To mypleasurefantasy:  I definitely concur with you regarding this premise.   Parents and stepparents should never treat one child better than another.  That is egregious in itself.   The average child in multichild families experiences some sort of differential treatment from either their parents and/or stepparents in one form or another.    There are some children who are favored i.e. they receive preferential treatment that their siblings do not receive while others are disfavored and/or scapegoated.    Yes, this is egregious behavior on the part of the parent and/or stepparent but in the majority of multichild families, one child is favored over others and one child is often scapegoated or at least disfavored over others.   Many parents and stepparents are loathe to acknowledge this but it occurs more often than we would like to know.

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