Alphabetical professions and trades 2
Good Morning Monday 4th December 2023
Gransnet in 2024 - have your say!
I’ve just decorated a plain fresh wreath and hung it on the front door, and…
Our recent survey, done in partnership with Mumsnet, reveals some shocking truths regarding an issue that many wouldn’t like to acknowledge: favouritism.
In the survey of 2,000 parents and grandparents with more than one child, 23% of Mumsnet users admitted to having a favourite, while 42% of Gransnet users confessed to having a preferred grandchild.
One of the starkest generational differences is visible through parents favouring the youngest, whilegrandparents are enamoured with their first grandchild. Over half (56%) of parents stated that their favourite was the youngest child (26% preferred their oldest), whereas 39% of grandparents held their eldest in highest esteem.
Perhaps this is to do with their respective roles; 61% of parents said that their favourite child’s siblings are more ‘tricky or demanding’. Grandparents didn’t seem too fussed, with only 41% saying that their favourites are ‘the easy one’.
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In response to this, Mumsnet and Gransnet founder Justine Roberts said: ‘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 - often, whichever one is willing to put their shoes on - is fairly common, and doesn’t have to be disastrous. Toxic favouritism, where siblings become aware of being treated unfairly over the long term, is a whole other ball game. The distilled Mumsnet wisdom on this issue is that lots of parents like their children differently: the crucial thing is to love them all wholly.’
Read the full survey results here and visit Mumsnet's own survey page for a full breakdown of their results.
Images: Shutterstock