Broody couples might want to throw away any dreams of a boy for him and a girl for her.
The secret of domestic bliss is having two daughters, according to a study.
In a finding that will surprise many parents, researchers concluded that two girls are unlikely to fight, will play nicely together, rarely annoy their parents and tend not to wind each other up.
They also make little noise, seldom ignore each other and are more likely to confide in their mother or father, scientists claim.
But doubling the number of daughters is a recipe for disaster, with parents of four girls the least happy with their domestic set-up.
Researchers questioned thousands of mothers and fathers of under-16s to come up with the recipe for a harmonious family life.
Those with two girls were most likely to say their children were easy to reason with, helped around the house and generally got on well with each other.
But parents of four girls reported refereeing an average of four fights a day.
One in three frequently found it hard to cope, and two-thirds had to buy a bigger house or car to accommodate their brood.
Overall, mothers and fathers with four children of any gender were more likely to find family life a struggle, with mornings, mealtimes and bedtimes the most common sources of conflict.
And parents of large families more often admitted neglecting one or more of their children on occasion or struggling to share their attention equally.
After two girls, the second most appealing combination of children was one girl and one boy, with 86 per cent of parents saying their little boy and little girl were genuine friends.
Two siblings of opposite genders rarely argue over toys and are easy to reason with, but suffer from a lack of shared interests as they grow up, the researchers claim.
The third most favourable combination was two boys, with parents saying their sons pay each other lots of attention and are close friends - but are less likely to confide in their mum or dad as they grow up.
(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
(Agencies)
打算生小孩的夫妇也许要舍弃一男一女两个小孩的梦想了。 根据一项研究，家庭幸福的秘诀是有两个女儿。 这项研究结果会让许多父母感到吃惊。研究人员得出结论说，两个女孩不容易打架，在一起会玩得很好，很少会惹父母生气，而且一般不会作弄对方。 科学家称，两个女孩制造的噪音小，很少会不理对方，而且更愿意向母亲或父亲吐露秘密。 但是，如果女儿的数量加倍，带来的却是不幸。相比其他家庭格局，有四个女儿的父母是最不幸福的。 研究人员调查了数千位家里有16岁以下小孩的父母，寻找和谐家庭生活的秘诀。 有两个女儿的父母多数都说自己的小孩听话，还说女儿们会帮忙拾掇家务，而且一般相处得也很好。 但是有四个女儿的父母们却表示他们平均每天要劝架四次。 这些父母有三分之一经常为家事感到头疼，三分之二不得不买更大的房子或车才能容纳家里的小孩。 总体而言，有四个孩子（无论男女）的父母更有可能为家庭生活烦恼，清晨、用餐时间和睡觉时间是最常发生冲突的时段。 更多大家庭的父母承认有时会疏于照顾自己的一个或多个小孩，要平均分配对每个小孩的注意力也很难。 排在两个女儿组合之后，最吸引人的组合就是一个女儿和一个儿子，有86%的父母说他们的儿子和女儿是真正的好朋友。 研究人员称，姐弟或兄妹很少会为玩具争吵，也比较听话，但是成长过程中没有多少共同的兴趣爱好。 第三个受欢迎的组合是两个儿子，父母们说他们的儿子互相很关照，是亲密的朋友，不过在成长过程中比较不愿意向父母吐露秘密。
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