One in 10 parents admit to having a favourite child (and there are even more who have a fave but are too embarrassed to say so)
- Youngest child is most likely to be the favourite, say parents, followed by eldest
- Queen is rumoured to favour Prince Andrew above his three siblings
- Actress Jamie Pressly said on Instagram she favoured her 12-year-old eldest son
Those who have always nurtured a feeling their parents favoured another sibling could well be right.
Stunning research has revealed that one in ten parents have a favourite child, with the actual number thought to be much higher as many are too embarrassed to say.
The youngest was most likely to be the favourite, with 53 per cent of parents saying they preferred this child, followed by the eldest with 25 per cent, and the middle child with 18 per cent.
Daughters were more likely to be the favourite than sons, with 51 per cent of parents saying they preferred their girls compared to 46 per cent preferring their boys, a YouGov poll for The Times that talked to more than 3,000 parents said.
The Queen is rumoured to favour her third child Prince Andrew. They are pictured together at Royal Ascot in June last year
Actress Jamie Pressly with 12-year-old eldest son Dezi, who she said is her favourite
Actress Jamie Pressly faced backlash last year when she revealed her favourite child was her 12-year-old eldest son, rather than her one-year-old twins.
‘Best time ever hangin’ with my favourite son, Dezi,’ she wrote on Instagram. ‘That’s right I said it.’
‘I have a favourite son although I love all three of my boys with everything I have in me. Dez and I have a special bond that no one else will ever match because we’ve grown up together.’
The Queen is also rumoured to favour her third son Prince Andrew, 60, although she forced him to step back from royal duties due to the scandal following his Newsnight interview on his connections with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
He was born ten years after his elder sister, Princess Anne, and followed rumours in 1956 that all was not well with the royal marriage. His birth was taken as marking a new age, the Queen’s ‘second family’, with Prince Edward following four years later.
Dezi pictured holding his two one-year-old brothers on his mother’s Instagram page
Model Abbey Clancy, 33, has revealed that her eldest son Johnny, two, is her favourite child. She has four children including Sophia, eight, Liberty, four, and Jack, eight months.
‘He’s the prince!,’ she said, reports The Metro. ‘Yes, he’s still the favourite and he’s definitely a mummy’s boy.’
More than 6,240 people responded to the YouGov survey on whether parents have a favourite child, with a third of respondents saying they thought their parents had a favourite – but it was not them.
When asked whether favouritism had caused lasting damage to family relationships, 35 per cent of the more than 3,000 children that responded said it had, but 56 per cent said it had not.
Model Abbey Clancy, 33, said her favourite child was her eldest son Johnny, two (right)
Research has shown that favouritism is likely more common than people admit, and that it may reflect natural differences in temperaments, reports the Times.
‘There is evidence that differential treatment by parents can have an effect on children’s adjustment,’ Dr Fiona MacCallum, associate professor in psychology at the University of Warwick, told The Times. ‘But, it only has a very small effect on top of the overall level of parenting.’
‘Far more important than the difference between the siblings is the overall level of parenting so I don’t think parents should feel guilty if they have a favourite child.’