Which kid is your favourite?
Ridiculous question, I know, but nearly a quarter of parents – and HALF of grandparents – apparently have a favourite child or grandchild according to new research.
iNews reports:
A survey by Mumsnet and Gransnet revealed 23 per cent of parents had a favourite child, while 42 per cent of grandparents had a favourite grandchild. Among parents who admitted it, 56 per cent said they preferred their youngest child. Among grandparents, 39 per cent favoured their eldest grandchild.
Give me strength.
Apparently some of this absurdity is based on one child being less tricky or demanding than their siblings. But we're talking about human beings here – since when did it become acceptable for parents to openly admit to preferring one child over another?
Thankfully, around half Mumsnet and Gransnet users agreed that having a favourite was “awful” with most saying favouritism is damaging for other siblings or for the favoured child.
Worse still, of those parents who admitted to having a favourite child, 13 per cent said they thought that child's siblings knew which one was the favourite kid.
Of course, it's one thing to acknowledge that you have more in common with one child than other – and such things go in cycles depending on the age and stage of development of each child, in my view.
But I strongly feel it's unthinkable to knowingly favour one child over another. Unless you do it like my friend's parents did. Her parents used to tell her she was their favourite on a regular basis and it wasn't until she was in her 20s that she discovered that they did exactly the same with her two younger siblings.
Well played, that mum and dad.
We'd love to hear your views on this story. Do you admit to having a favourite child? Or do you have experience of either being the favourite or knowing you weren't the favourite when you were a child?
Leave us a comment here or come and join the conversation over on our Facebook page. And don't forget to take part in our poll.
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