kids

The mum who is so open about who her favourite child is, she talked about it on TV.

A mum-of-four has gone on TV to explain why her third child is her favourite.

Alisha Tierney-March is mum to three girls – Addison, nine, Harleigh, seven, and Kennedie, two – and a boy, one-year-old Elijah. On UK show This Morning, she was happy to talk about her special bond with Kennedie.

“When Kennedie came along, the other two were in school, so I got those whole six hours together,” she explained. “I breastfed her, which I hadn’t been able to do with my other children, and I think because of that bond…”

Before the arrival of Kennedie, Tierney-March’s favourite child was Harleigh. Addison, her oldest, was “a really difficult baby”.

“She had colic. She used to scream from two o’clock in the afternoon till two o’clock in the morning. She was really, really hard work and I did find it really hard to bond with her. Although we’ve got that bond now, she’s very, very different from me.”

As for Elijah, it’s going to be hard for him to ever become the favourite child. Tierney-March was “disappointed” to have a boy instead of a fourth girl, and “cried for days” after his birth.

The mum doesn’t hide her preference for Kennedie from her other two daughters.

“They will say, ‘She’s your favourite,’ and I will admit to them, I’ll say, ‘Yes, I do like her.’”

This Morning viewers were horrified to see Tierney-March being so open about having a favourite child. They slammed her on Twitter, saying she should be “bloody ashamed” of herself.

I have to agree. Surely one of the cardinal rules of parenting is that you don’t have a favourite child – you don’t even let your mind go there?

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My son is always asking me if I love him more than I love his sister. I always tell him I love them both equally. Sure, he was an easier baby, and he’s a more easygoing child, but you don’t love kids for being easy. You don’t love them because they’re similar to you. You love them because they’re your kids.

Do third kids get overlooked? Holly Wainwright and Andrew Daddo discuss. Post continues after audio.

You can’t pick and choose favourite children like chip flavours or reality show contestants. Kids need to grow up feeling that someone in the world loves them wholeheartedly. At school, other kids will be mean to them and leave them out of the group. Girlfriends and boyfriends will dump them for someone better. Parents’ love needs to be boundless.

In an interview with Express, Tierney-March says that although she loves all four of her kids to pieces, her bond with Kennedie is different “and too strong now to diminish as she grows older”.

“To a degree I do feel guilty for having a favourite child, of course,” she explains. “But I can’t help the way I feel, and however much other parents judge me for speaking out, I think if they were really honest, they would realise they have a slight favourite among their children too.”

Uh, no. No no no.

Would you ever admit to having a favourite child?