I think I've kind of become the favourite because I'm the most academically successful, but I don't necessarily think it was always that way.

I'm the youngest, my sister is the middle child and my brother's the oldest. My brother was born out of my dad's first marriage where his wife committed suicide soon after my brother's birth, so my dad married my mother when my brother was a few years old. As a result my brother was fairly problematic because of the death of his biological mother, and even after my sister was born I think he got more attention. I've got much closer with my mother recently because of my success, but I feel that my sister was always slightly ignored compared to me and my brother, but by no means in a huge way.

While favouritism can be damaging, I think the studies mentioned in this article sound a bit crap. The answers given could be interpreted in many different ways and just because kids think their parents have favourites when they don't, it doesn't necessarily mean they suffer huge psychological damage as a result.