Favorite
Explanation
The Joke
A child asks their father if he had a favorite kid when they (the children) were little. The father says that now that the children are older and have kids of their own, he can appreciate the truth. The children lean in expectantly, one saying "Billy? Betty?" hoping to hear their own name. The father's answer: "The neighbor's kid." He describes the neighbor's child as "so athletic and handsome" and "a real Turner, too" -- clearly admiring someone else's child over his own.
The Humor
The comic plays on the classic family dynamic of wondering which child is the parents' favorite. The setup leads the adult children to expect a heartwarming revelation, and the audience anticipates either a sweet "I loved you all equally" or a comedic admission of one sibling over another. Instead, the father chooses a child who is not even his own, which is both unexpected and delightfully cruel. The specificity of his praise ("so athletic and handsome, but a real Turner too") twists the knife further, suggesting he spent years quietly wishing his own children were more like the kid next door.
The humor also comes from the fact that the children are now adults with their own families, making the father's honesty both long-overdue and completely devastating. It is a joke about parental expectations and the grass-is-always-greener mentality applied to child-rearing.
References
The comic plays on the universal family trope of parental favoritism, a common subject in both comedy and psychology. The idea that parents secretly compare their children to other families' children is a widely relatable anxiety.