Mums and dads have finally answered the age old of question of who is their favourite child – but grandparents disagree
It all comes down to humour and age
AFTER years of questioning our parents about who they like more - us or our annoying siblings - we finally have the answer.
The usual response has been 'parents cannot possibly chose a favourite' - well, it turns out they can.
A study by Mumsnet has discovered that the baby of the family is the golden child in their parent's eyes.
Half of parents who confessed to having a favourite said it was their last born.
Four in ten parents said they favored their youngest because they saw themselves in the child.
However, grandparents are more likely to prefer the eldest grandchild as they were the first, reincarnated mini-version of their children.
It seems favouritism could also be down to humour, as more than half of parents and grandparents said their golden child made them laugh more.
So, if you aren't the favourite, you might just not be very funny (apparently).
Despite some admitting to having preferences, almost six in ten mums, dads and grandparents said they felt awful for picking out who they liked more.
Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts told the : "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 is fairly common and doesn't have to be disastrous.
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
"Toxic favouritism, where siblings become aware of being treated unfairly over the long term, is whole other ball game. The distilled Mumsnet wisdom on this issue is that a lot of parents like their children differently - the crucial thing is we all love them wholly."
For even more parenting issues, take a look at the mum who put her toddler 'up for sale' after she got up early and trashed the house.
And check out why this mum is slamming strangers who 'shame' her for telling her kids off in public.