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This Morning viewers disgusted by mum who says she has a favourite of her four children

Alisha Tierney-March has no qualms telling her kids who she likes best

By Nancy Brown

A mother of four who openly tells her kids she prefers one of them over the others today sparked outrage from This Morning viewers.

Alisha Tierney-March says her favourite child is two-year-old Kennedie and that her eldest children, Addison, nine, and Harleigh, seven, know it.

And she admitted crying for days when she found out when pregnant that her youngest, Elijah, now one year old, was a boy.

Alisha on This Morning’s sofa (Credit: ITV)

Hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield told her she could be doing her other three children untold, long-term psychological harm but she remained unrepentant.

The 32-year-old said she liked Kennedie the most because, unlike her two eldest daughters, she breastfed her and had more quality alone time together as Addison and Harleigh were at school.

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She said that before Kennedie was born, Harleigh had been her favourite because Addison had colic and “screamed from 2pm to 2am”.

Holly tries to make the mum see sense (Credit: ITV)

“She was really hard work and I did find it really hard to bond with her. She’s very different to me.

“The seven-year-old and the nine-year-old are at that pre-teen age and they bounce off each other.

“One will dare the other to see how far she can push us, so in that respect Kennedie is my favourite. She is just all-round nicer to be around.”

Alisha said the two eldest girls “don’t want Mummy, they don’t want cuddles, they don’t want that sort of affection”.

A concerned Schofe (Credit: ITV)

But Phillip told her: “Maybe the seven-year-old and the nine-year-old don’t want cuddles from Mummy because she’s too busy with Kennedie. They know that you like her better.”

Alisha replied: “They will say she’s my favourite and I will admit to them, ‘Yes’.”

A shocked Holly said: “The alarm bells are in my head right now and, actually, what that will do eventually.

“I know we’re giggling because it’s shocking, but that going in your head as a child and living that inside and then that growing and becoming bigger, do you not worry about the impact that’s going to have on them?”

Holly and Phil grill Alisha (Credit: ITV)

Alisha said that despite Harleigh and Addison being fully aware they weren’t her favourites, they knew she loved them just as much and didn’t resent Kennedie.

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“Harleigh, up until very recently, did gymnastics. We were paying out what you would pay out on a small mortgage for her to do that. I’ve just got that different bond with Kennedie.”

On Elijah, she said: “When I found out it was a boy, I was upset. We’ve got three girls. Deep down I wanted another girl.”

Holly’s alarm bells are ringing (Credit: ITV)

Furious viewers criticised the mum on social media for being a terrible role model.

One wrote: “She’s awful! It’s disgusting she thinks it’s okay to admit having favourites!

“That’s gonna mess with their brains when they’re older and she won’t have ANY bond with them, they won’t wanna be close with her because she has favourites.”

Holly revealed a poll of 12,000 This Morning viewers, with an overwhelming 94 per cent insisting no parent should have a favourite child.

* This Morning is on ITV weekdays at 10.30am.

Should a parent have a favourite child? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!

Nancy Brown
Acting Editor

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