Apparently The Youngest Sibling Is Most Likely To Be The Favourite Child

Anyone with brothers or sisters will admit that there can be sibling rivalry every now and again, but the latest findings from a scientific study may cause even more arguments among the fam.

Apparently the youngest sibling is more likely to be the parents’ favourite. Yep.

New research that has been published in the Journal of Adolescence appears to show that the youngest sibling tends to be the family favourite.

Researchers from Brigham Young University’s School of Family Life asked 300 families who each had two teenagers various questions about their parent and child relationships.

Both mothers and fathers were asked how much warmth and conflict they had with their children while the teens were asked to describe their relationship with their parents.

The results showed that younger siblings tend to be the favourite because they look at and see themselves classed as the ‘favourite’ child.

The research also found that younger children who believe that they are the favourite tend to get on better with their parents.

However, results showed that if the older sibling thought if they were the favourite or not, it had no effect on their relationship with their Mam and Dad.

Commenting on the results, assistant professor, Alex Jensen said, “It’s not that first-borns don’t ever think about their siblings and themselves in reference to them – it’s just not as active of a part of their daily life.”

“My guess is it’s probably rarer that parents will say to an older sibling, ‘why can’t you be more like your younger sibling?’ It’s more likely to happen the other way around.”

So there you have it – the researchers have concluded that favouritism is indeed, in the eye of the beholder. 

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