Being the favorite child is not just a privilege, it's also a major responsibility. It is not an easy position to claim. There are many ways to put yourself ahead of your siblings that are not simple. However, if you are in college, this process just became a whole lot easier.

The first few steps are about building your base. First, you want to get everyone to like you even more than they did before. This is pretty hard because your family already loves you, so it is up to you to go above and beyond in doing nice things. After the base is complete, you can start working on becoming the favorite child.

The first step is to always have a smile on your face. There is research done that it is pretty much impossible to be mean if you are smiling. So, if you are smiling, you will be nice to your brothers and sisters, your mom and dad, and even the neighbors will enjoy your positive attitude.

The second step is to start hanging out with each sibling individually. These are your siblings so you should hang out with them regardless! Do they like to go out to eat? Do they have a favorite TV show that you think is really bad? Do they like sport things? Find something that you can enjoy together and go do it every so often. Quality time is very important.

Next, always be home one time. If you say you are going to be home at 11, then be home at 10:45. And, if you are not going to be on time because of traffic, call home and give your parents a new estimated time of arrival. Similarly to this step, try not to lie about where you are going and what you are doing. They don’t care as much as you think that instead of going to a movie and having a sleepover with your closest pals that you are going to someone else’s house and meeting up with even more friends for a little party. They really just want you to be safe and happy. And, they will be happy knowing that you are growing into a responsible young adult. If you are in college, this step can be eliminated. Your parents don’t know if you went out or stayed in each night. So, you can focus your energy on the first two steps whenever you are home on break.

If you continue doing all these steps for a few months, your base should be pretty strong. The next steps are geared more to becoming the favorite child.

Try in school. Of course, it is not always possible to have straight As. But, if you studied for hours and hours and got a C+, then, at least, you put in your best effort into it. If your tried your best, no one can be mad at you. If you are in college, when you are home on breaks, try and help your younger siblings with whatever they are learning. You are a big kid now that understands long division better than your fourth grade siblings. It will be so heartwarming for your parents to catch you in the act of giving advice and helping your siblings with their math homework or proofreading their English paper.

This step is more for college students: if you are having trouble connecting with your parents because you are so far way and don’t talk as much as you wish, then find things that remind you of your parents or grandparents and share them. See an article or video online that they would enjoy, send it their way. Take a picture of something you see somewhere you go and text it to them. Showing them that you are thinking of them brightens their day and yours.

In the end, if you have tried all these steps and you are not the favorite, that is okay. It’s not really about being the favorite, but about the effort you put in. You will gain a lot from this process. Your work ethic will improve tremendously. You will become even more reliable than you were before, as well. And in the end, you will have built great relationships with your siblings and parents and neighbors and grandparents. These relationships can only grow more and are really beneficial to you.

So, good luck on becoming the favorite child!