Child's pig, but father's bacon.

The proverb contrasts nominal ownership with the enjoyment of its rewards. Although the pig is called the child’s, the father receives the bacon.

It points to an arrangement in which someone with greater authority benefits from something credited to a less powerful person. The child’s claim matters less than who controls the outcome.

Use it when a younger or less powerful person is said to own something, but someone with authority takes the practical benefit. It can express criticism of that imbalance without specifying why it occurs.