Every parent who has raised more than one child at the same time has heard the cry - whether justified or not - that one is getting special treatment over the others, or that one is being slighted to the advantage of everyone else. While the parent may or may not agree with the child’s assessment of the current situation (in fact, the youngster may not be discriminated against at all!), he or she will invariably agree on one thing, no child should be singled out for treatment benefiting them to the others’ disadvantage.

All of us have a deep-seated sense of fairness. "What’s fair is fair," we sometimes say - and may even equate that saying with a similar one: "What’s right is right." We don’t like our sense of justice violated. When we see someone set apart for unequal treatment, it rankl…