1 | '''Basic Trope''': The middle child is favoured the least. |
2 | * '''Straight''': AliceAndBob have three children from the oldest: Charlie, Daniel and Ethan. Daniel gets the least attention. |
3 | * '''Exaggerated''': |
4 | ** Alice and Bob have seven children from the oldest: Charlie, Daniel, Ethan, [[UnfortunateNames Flower]], Gerald, Hillary and Igor. Flower gets the least attention and even receives AllOfTheOtherReindeer treatment from her ''entire'' family. |
5 | ** Same as above, except ''only'' Charlie and Igor get attention. (Igor could be a MagicalSeventhSon.) |
6 | ** Alice and Bob have [[MassiveNumberedSiblings many children]]. The one ''right in the middle of the birth order'' is completely neglected. |
7 | * '''Downplayed''': Alice and Bob have three children from the oldest: Charlie, Daniel and Ethan. They treat them with love and care; just that Charlie and Ethan get more attention than Daniel. |
8 | * '''Justified''': |
9 | ** As the oldest, Charlie will be taking on Bob's legacy. As the youngest, Ethan gets to be pampered and babied. Daniel is neither, so naturally, he is neglected the most. |
10 | ** Daniel is [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy average]] but Charlie and Ethan have some combination of:\ |
11 | A) Charlie and Ethan have learning difficulties.\ |
12 | B) Charlie and Ethan are physically disabled.\ |
13 | C) One of each.\ |
14 | D) Some other combination that logically results in a necessity of parental attention skewed away from Daniel.\ |
15 | It's not unfairness -- just a fact of life. |
16 | * '''Inverted''': Daniel is pampered and supported the most, while Charlie and Ethan are neglected. |
17 | * '''Subverted''': Daniel complains about this and the counselor confronts his parents about it. Alice and Bob claim otherwise. |
18 | * '''Double Subverted''': Because as far as they're concerned, they only have two children. |
19 | * '''Parodied''': Daniel is ''one minute'' younger than Charlie or one minute older than Ethan (as the older/younger sibling of a pair of twins), and yet is still neglected the most. |
20 | * '''Zig-Zagged''': Alice and Bob have seven children from the oldest: Charlie, Daniel, Ethan, Flower, Gerald, Hillary and Igor. Charlie, Flower, and Igor get attention, while the other four are neglected. |
21 | * '''Averted''': |
22 | ** All three children are treated equally; that is, they are all either supported or neglected. |
23 | ** No characters have more than one sibling. |
24 | * '''Enforced''': The middle child is the main/viewpoint character and it's [[RuleOfDrama more dramatic]] and/or [[RuleOfFunny funnier]] if he's [[TheWoobie the fall guy]]. |
25 | * '''Lampshaded''': "Sometimes I like being the middle child. I can get away with stuff." |
26 | * '''Invoked''': Daniel makes an effort not to draw attention to himself. |
27 | * '''Exploited''': Daniel misbehaves behind Alice and Bob's back, knowing they wouldn't care about what he is doing anyway. |
28 | * '''Defied''': |
29 | ** Alice and Bob both make sure to treat all of their children equally. |
30 | ** Charlie picks up on the lack of attention to Daniel after Ethan is born, and BigBrotherInstinct drives him to call it out before it becomes a problem. |
31 | * '''Discussed''': "No, my parents don't abuse or neglect me just become I'm the second child of three! What a silly notion." |
32 | * '''Conversed''': "There they go again, leaving Daniel out because he's the middle child." |
33 | * '''Implied''': Alice and Bob are shown buying toys and candy for Charlie and Ethan, but never for Daniel. |
34 | * '''Deconstructed''': Daniel gets short shrift growing up, which gives him serious psychological issues later in life. |
35 | * '''Reconstructed''': |
36 | ** Daniel has a heart-to-heart with his parents and they make it up to him. |
37 | ** As the next generation of parents, Daniel's experiences teach him how to avoid this mentality once he becomes a father. |
38 | * '''Played for Laughs''': Alice tells a friend, "We're a pretty normal family of four -- I mean, five." |
39 | * '''Played for Drama''': Daniel dies of neglect, while Alice and Bob [[KarmaHoudini aren't arrested]] because they (supposedly) didn't know he existed. [[note]] [[SincerityMode It is actually possible for a baby to die from being severely neglected.]] [[/note]] |
40 | ---- |
41 | Back to MiddleChildSyndrome, and... wait, where's Daniel? |
42 | ---- |
43 | %% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion: |
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