New survey reveals parents really do have a "favourite child"
It’s the question every sibling has asked themselves at least once – am I the favourite child? And if you asked your parents that very question, chances are you got the usual response: “We love you both equally."
Well, according to a new report, they may not have been telling the truth.
Two surveys conducted by parenting website Mumsnet and grandparenting site Gransnet has found a surprising number of mums, dads, nans and pops really do have preferences when it comes to their little ones.
Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of the 1,185 Mumsnet users admitted they had a favourite, while a staggering 42 per cent of 1,111 Gransnet users said the same.
The majority of parents with a favourite child said they preferred their youngest child, while just 26 per cent said it was their eldest, and four in 10 grandparents said their first-born grandchild was their favourite.
Forty-two per cent of those who admitted they had a favourite also revealed the child reminded them of themselves, while more than half said their favourite child made them laugh more than their other child(ren).
Despite this, more than half of parents and grandparents who confessed to playing favourites admitted it made them feel “awful”, with three quarters agreeing that favouritism can have a damaging effect on their other children.
“Favouritism is one of the last taboos and can provoke a lot of guilt, so it’s important to say that feeling a greater affinity for a particular child – often, whichever one is willing to put their shoes on – is fairly common, and doesn’t have to be disastrous,” Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts told The Mirror.
“Toxic favouritism, where siblings become aware of being treated unfairly over the long term, is a whole other ball game.
“The distilled Mumsnet wisdom on this issue is that lots of parents like their children differently: the crucial thing is to love them all wholly.”
Tell us in the comments below, were you the favourite child? Do you play favourites with your own children and grandchildren?