London – They would never admit it to their off spring, but one in ten parents has a favour ite child, a survey has found.
The poll of more than 6 000 British adults also revealed that a third of people sus pected their parents had a favourite child – and most did not think it was them.
In half of the cases, the youngest child was thought to be the favourite, with the eldest favoured in 28 per cent of families and a middle child in 23 per cent.
Research has shown that favouritism by parents can cause lasting damage within a family, often affecting the bonds between siblings rather than between parent and child.
Ten per cent of parents said they had a favourite child whom they tended to pre fer, regardless of their behaviour. a leading psychologist told The Times the real figure was likely to be higher because par ents were too embarrassed to admit it.