The accusation by sobbing children that their mum or dad loves another sibling more than them has some basis after all.

A survey of more than 2,000 parents found that some parents do have a favourite son or daughter. Among mothers, 34 per cent admitted to prefer a child over her other kids, while among fathers, 28 per cent shared the same behaviour.

Conducted by the Web site Parentdish, the survey shocked its editor Tasmin Kelly, who said, "Our children may need different levels of attention at different times, but they should be growing up knowing they are loved equally and unconditionally for their different personalities and talents, not having to measure up against a favorite sibling and found wanting."

On the opposite end, 42 per cent said they have unconditional love and affection for their children which is the happiest thing about parenting. But being mums and dads means sacrificing such as having extra income for 38 per cent of the parents and sleeping in for 40 per cent.

Other parental weaknesses that emerged in the study include 54 per cent of mums and dads admit fibbing to their kids about plans for the weekend and about 20 per cent being pressured to buy gadgets for their children to fit in.

"I am not surprised that moms and days exaggerate their weekend plans though, as packing your children's lives with activities is a real area for parent competitiveness today," Ms Kelly added.

Another surprise are that fathers are faster when it comes to changing diapers since they took just one minute and 30 seconds average, while mothers took two minutes.