All parents tell their children little white lies from time to time. "Of course Father Christmas comes down the chimney!" "Eat your spinach -- you'll get as strong as Popeye.". . . and so on. However, there's one fib that's bigger than all the others. It's "I don't have a favorite child." In his fascinating new book, The Sibling Effect: What Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us, Jeffrey Kluger, a father of two daughters, aged eight and ten, claims that " 95 percent of parents in the world have a favorite child -- and the other 5 percent are lying." Kluger may be exaggerating the figures for dramatic effect -- but despite every parent's vehement denial that they have a favorite child -- scientific research shows that he is not far off the truth.  According to one recent study by researchers from the University of California -- which followed 384  _ pairs and their parents for three years -- 65 percent of the mothers and 70 percent of fathers exhibited a preference for one child. As this was among families that knew they were being monitored, there's a strong possibility the true figures could be significantly higher. Favoritism is certainly a controversial topic. When raised as a subject for discussion on parenting websites, it always arouses a stream of angry denials.  But interestingly, a lot of personal anecdotes appear from parents who say they were overshadowed by a favored sibling, or were, indeed, their mother or father's favorite. It seems everyone knows favoritism exists -- but nobody wants to put their hand up and say they're guilty of it themselves.  Another research, where siblings have been asked to say who their mother and father favor, suggests that mothers do tend to a show a preference for their first-born son, but fathers often dote on their youngest daughters.   Parents will often be drawn to the child who is easiest to get along with -- or the child that shares similar traits to them. For example, mum will have a special bond with her sensitive, arty son, while dad lavishes attention on his sporty daughter.  Professor Scott says being least favored in a family can color1 our behavior as adults. "Children who feel they are less loved within their family are more likely to develop low self-esteem, anxiety and depression." But some experts believe being less favored can have positive consequences. Professor Scott agrees that favored children can sometimes find life difficult when they have to rub along in the real world. What does "sibling" (para 4) mean in the passage?
brother or sister parent brother sister