It has been a jokingly contested debate around the family dinner table and the question many siblings have pondered for years– does mum have a favourite and who is it?
In the lead up to Mother’s Day, research from the Lott revealed over 70% of Aussies surveyed thought their mum had a favourite child. Most say it’s the youngest because they will forever be “the baby” of the family (see Table 1).
Another 29% believe the oldest was the apple of mum’s eye, while as always, the middle child missed out — only 13% think the middle child could be mum’s favourite.
Table 1: Who do you think is your mum’s favourite child?
| Child | Percentage |
| The youngest child | 46% |
| The oldest child | 29% |
| The middle child | 13% |
| Other | 12% |
While many children thought their mum had a favourite child, the Lott spokesperson Bronwyn Spencer said it was a different story from the mothers themselves.
“It might seem like she was just placating you and your siblings when she told you all her children were her favourite, but for 82% of mums surveyed – it’s the truth,” she said.
“Only 5% of mums confessed to liking the youngest the best, while another 5% said the eldest was their favourite.
“Aussies told us they felt the youngest was the favourite because they seemed to get away with anything during childhood.
“Others thought the eldest was the favourite because of their tendency to be reliable, helpful and they always used to receive everything first.
“We also found people thought being the only male or only female in the family meant they were the favourite – especially if they were the first in a generation or more.
With Mother’s Day one of the busiest times of the year for Instant Scratch-Its, Ms Spencer said she looked forward to seeing which mums scored top prizes on the tickets they found in their cards and gifts this Sunday.
“Many mums revealed they’d received the more traditional gifts of soaps, clothes vouchers and slippers, but others told of a few of the more unusual gifts,” she said.
“From power tools and shares in a racehorse, to blank VCR tapes so the footy can be recorded, there seems to be a few gifts that were actually on someone else’s wish list.
“There were also a few gifts that had the best of intentions but didn’t quite get it right, like the daughter who gifted her mum a bunch of celery thinking it was flowers, a half-baked cake and a pot plant full of dirt with no plant.”
There is some good news for mums, with 72% of players sharing that if they won the top prize on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket, they would share it with their mum.
“But while most players would share a major prize win with their mum if they won, two-thirds of players said they wouldn’t expect their mum to share her top prize with them. Surely one way to become mum’s favourite!”
The full Instant Scratch-Its ticket range, including a special Mother’s Day $5 Crosswords ticket, is now available at Instant Scratch-Its outlets in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory.