The Telegraph (UK) reported today on a new results from a survey by parenting website Netmums which revealed that one in six mothers favored one child over others. The website surveyed more than 1,000 parents, and found that nearly 20 percent of them said that they love one of their children more than the others. Netmums also revealed that one-third of parents said they loved all their children equally, and half said they love their children equally but ‘in different ways.’ And of course, they couldn’t resist seeking out sociological commentary…

The Telegraph reports:

There can be negative impacts to having a favourite child, however, which can lead to undesirable personality traits in later life for both the child itself and other siblings.

Dr Martina Klett-Davies, a sociologist specialising in families and sibling relationships at the London School of Economics (LSE), said: “If there is a favourite child, they probably become too spoiled and find it difficult in later life.

“But the imbalance could prepare siblings for unfairness in later life when you leave the family circle by teaching them to be fighters.”

The full story.