Basic Trope: A kid doesn't like it when their parents have another child, often out of jealousy.
- Straight: Carl's parents, Alice and Bob, have another child — Denise. Carl doesn't like Denise at all.
- Exaggerated:
- Carl never outgrows this rivalry, and he and Denise become a case of Cain and Abel when they get older.
- Carl attempts to kill Denise, or even actually goes through with it, out of jealousy.
- Carl is the oldest of Massively Numbered Siblings, and he becomes jealous every time Alice and Bob have another child.
- Downplayed:
- Carl is okay with having a younger sibling, but does get jealous of Denise on occasion.
- Alice and Bob don't actually decide to have any other kids, but they bring up the possibility of it up to Carl. Carl dislikes the idea.
- Justified:
- Carl is jealous of all the attention Denise is getting and is worrying that he's become The Unfavorite.
- Babies are noisy/messy, and Carl doesn't like this.
- Carl doesn't want to fall into Middle Child Syndrome.
- Carl likes being the only kid in the family.
- Inverted:
- Carl is excited about the possibility of having a younger sibling, and begs his parents for one.
- Denise is the one who becomes jealous of Carl.
- Subverted: Carl is frustrated about the idea of having a new sibling at first, but Alice and Bob make it clear that they love him and the new baby just as much. He understands, and then becomes excited to have a new sibling...
- Double Subverted: ...but then he gets frustrated again when his parents spend all their time caring for the baby.
- Parodied: ???
- Zig-Zagged:
- Carl is excited to have a new sibling at first, but is upset when he realizes who the new sibling is. He later warms up to his new sibling.
- Carl has mixed feelings about having a new sibling.
- Averted:
- Carl never has any younger siblings.
- Carl is open to the idea of having a younger sibling from the start.
- Enforced:
- The story is setting up a lesson on accepting one's siblings.
- "Let's add some conflict to the New Baby Episode. Maybe Carl doesn't like the new baby."
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied:
- Alice and Bob don't have any more kids because they don't want Carl to feel jealous of any potential new siblings.
- Alice and Bob make it clear that they love Carl just as much as they love the new baby, and make sure to give him reasonable amounts of attention as well.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Alice and Bob mention the possibility of having a younger sibling. Carl doesn't seem very excited.
- Played for Laughs: Carl overreacts comically to the idea of having a younger sibling.
- Played for Drama: Carl becomes a Big Brother Bully to Denise.
- Played for Horror: Carl is tired of Denise getting all of the attention, so he kills her.
Back to Infant Sibling Jealousy
