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Family

02nd Apr 2016

Oldest, Middle Or Baby? Study Shows Parents DO Have a Favourite Child

This is bound to cause a LOT of rows...

Megan Cassidy

I will not be held responsible for breaking up families all over the country.

However, as a first born, I do feel it’s a matter of public service to let you all know that we ARE in fact the favourites (and the best).

Okay, I’m joking (ish), but there is something in this.

Although they would NEVER admit it, a new study has found that parents do actually have a favourite.

Spotted on Cosmopolitan, research from The Science of Us has shown that parents tend to show preferential treatment towards the firstborn.

For the study, 384 pairs of siblings were asked about differences in how they were treated and how it affected their self esteem.

With those answers in mind, the parents of the siblings were then interviewed.

The conclusion? First born children tended to feel they were preferred while the younger siblings felt their parents were stricter on them and like they got less attention.

And get THIS.

A whopping 70% of dads and 74% of mums admitted to treating one child better than the other.

You do the math.