MOMS COME CLEAN

Have fave kids

Turns out Mom and Dad do have a favorite. While they might not admit it to their kids, 23 percent of parents favor one child, and chances are, it’s the baby, a new survey has found. Of the parents who copped to having a preference, more than half said it was for their youngest kid, according to the 1,000-person poll by British parenting site Mumsnet. A little more than quarter of the parents said their oldest was their favorite. Middle children came in dead last. Still, many refused to name their golden child, with 63 percent saying they don’t have a fave and 14 percent saying they “weren’t sure.” Parents showered praise on the kids they think of as their “Mini-Me’s.” Fortyone percent with a favorite said their kid reminded them of themselves.

Twenty-two percent said their favorite also happened to be their best-looking kid.

Favoritism could also be rooted in sheer convenience: 61 percent of the parents said the sibling of their favorite kid is more “demanding” or “tricky.”

Grandparents were even more guilty of picking sides. Gransnet, a similar site for grandparents, surveyed 1,111 grandparents, and found 42 percent confessed to preferring one of their grandchildren — in 40 percent of cases, the eldest.

“It’s important to say that feeling a greater affinity for a particular child — often, whichever one is willing to put their shoes on — is fairly common,” said Gransnet founder Justine Roberts.

The survey echoes previous research into the competitive world of siblings. A study published last year by researchers at Brigham Young University’s School of Family Life also found the youngest child is the favorite for most families.

And this favoritism may be for the better. The BYU researchers found that when younger siblings feel favored, they have a better relationship with the parents, but that with older siblings, whether they feel favored has no major impact.