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Earlier this month, I was at a 会合 of my 地元の Women’s 学校／設ける when the talk turned to grandchildren.

Most of my friends 認める they have a favourite grandchild, but swore blind they would never 明らかにする／漏らす such a 有罪の secret to their adult children.

本人自身で, I can’t see what the fuss is about. After all, my entire family knows perfectly 井戸／弁護士席 that my eldest ?granddaughter, Elise, is at the 最高の，を越す of my つつく／ペックing order.

I have five granddaughters in total: Elise, 16, Isabella, 13, Scarlett, 11, Lucy, eight, and Ivy, six.

I love all of them, yet Elise can do no wrong in my 注目する，もくろむs. She is beautiful, bossy and belligerent, but so loving. I can’t help adoring her more.

And I don’t hide it, either. We’re a の近くに family and my only daughter Hannah lives a five-minute 運動 from my home in Cardiff, with her children and husband Scott.

As a retired civil servant, I’ve got plenty of 解放する／自由な time now, so if I’m bored or Elise is 負かす／撃墜する in the 捨てるs, I love nothing more than texting her and taking her out shopping. We laugh at the same things, and the same things infuriate us.

Emma Parsons-Reid with her favourite grandchild Elise, 老年の 16

I get unbearably sad and cross when people are disloyal and Elise is the only one who doesn’t think I’m 存在 極端に 劇の. ‘I get it, Gran, I really do,’ she’ll say.

In other words, we’re like two peas in a pod. We are so alike, Hannah has been known to say: ‘It’s as though I gave birth to my own mother.’

Elise has got me wrapped around her finger, too. When we’re out, she always manipulates me into buying ?something, and I’m only too happy to do so.?

In return, no area of Elise’s life is off-限界s to me. I’ve met her friends from school, all her boy pals think I’m 冷静な／正味の and I’m friends on Facebook with her 女性（の） social circle. I need to know who she is mixing with.

This isn’t something I do with my other granddaughters, though. I love them dearly, but that same 誘発する just isn’t there.

In my defence, I think a lot of women would say their eldest grandchild is their favourite.

Think about it, they are the ones we have spent the most time with. We’ve been a constant in their lives as 未払いの babyminders from when their parents weren’t that 手がかり（を与える）d-up with a newborn.

Hannah 分裂（する） with Elise’s father when she was a toddler ― and even though Elise has a ?stepfather, I ?正当化する the preference, telling myself I’m 存在 that person who gives her 境界s. Hannah tries to be strict but Elise walks all over her.

While it’s obvious to the world that I dote on her, Elise likes to ask me whether she is still my favourite. I have no problem ?安心させるing her, and I often tell her she is. In fact, she could do almost anything, even commit 殺人, and I’d defend her.

We’re so 肉体的に の近くに, she loves nothing more than lying across my （競技場の）トラック一周 and letting me 一打／打撃 her hair.

But, によれば Hannah, there are 限界s with my overt favouritism. We recently went shopping and Elise’s younger sister Isabella （機の）カム along. Elise 手配中の，お尋ね者 a new feather duvet and I paid the £70 price tag without blinking. ?Painfully aware I needed to 扱う／治療する Isabella, too, I 説得するd her into choosing a £5 lipstick.

Hannah has a 支配する about ?spending equal 量s on my grandchildren, but I 拒否権d that notion, as it’s an awful lot to spend every time I want to spoil Elise.

Yet her mum was furious. She wouldn’t speak to me and 辞退するd to let Elise use the duvet until Isabella got one, too. So, of course, ?Muggins here had to fork out.

Elise has been precious to me since the day she was born. I made it my 商売／仕事 to be at the birth, and in the 配達／演説／出産 控訴 I asked the midwives if I could catch her. So I was the first to 持つ／拘留する her and the 社債 was created there and then. I cried for three days straight, I felt so emotional.

There is all this love and yet, as a grandparent, you have no real say over how that child is brought up. As one of life’s 有罪の-as-告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d 支配（する）／統制する freaks, that has been a hard lesson for me.

When Hannah was 選び出す／独身 again, I was only too happy to look after my granddaughter while she went out with friends and on dates.

I dropped 負かす／撃墜する to four days at work so I could have Elise from Tuesday until Wednesday evening. She never slept! We’d watch ?television and go to the park. She never 手配中の，お尋ね者 to leave.

Elise had her own room at my home, with 特に made ?curtains, alth ough she would 結局最後にはーなる in bed with me most nights. She was still slipping in for a ?cuddle when she was five, and my partner Kevin didn’t mind, as he ?worshipped her, too.

'We are like two peas in a pod,' says Emma (left) of Elise, who she 収容する／認めるs has her grandmother 'wrapped around her finger'

So 類似の are they in temperament, that Emma's daughter (and Elise's mum) Hannah says: 'It’s as though I gave birth to my own mother'

When Hannah got together with Scott, Elise’s little sister Isabella arrived when she was three. Of course, I was happy to welcome another granddaughter, but I’m proud to say nothing changed in our 関係. If anything, I took Elise out more often.

There is a downside, though. Because we are mirrors of one another, I can see in her behaviour just how annoying I can be.

We’ve had some ?みごたえのある fallouts over the years. On one occasion, 押し進めるd to my 限界, I blurted that she was a ?失望 to me and would never 量 to anything.

We both ended up in 涙／ほころびs that night. But I’m the only person who will stand up to Elise. And, 簡単に put, I’m the only one for whom she has any 尊敬（する）・点.

I do think about what will happen if my 露骨な／あからさまの favouritism backfires on me when the others are older. I wouldn’t 非難する them for 裁判官ing me negatively for 存在 so open about it. I try not to say it in 前線 of them, but Elise does ― almost flaunts it, really.

Isabella just raises her eyebrows and laughs; I 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う she thinks she’s dodged a 弾丸 by 存在 spared all the ?special attention.

But Scarlett’s started making me feel 有罪の. Her 合理的な／理性的な is that if I don’t do something for her, then she’ll use the fact that Elise is my favourite against me. And, yes, I usually 洞穴 in.

But when they ask me why I have a favourite, I am honest. It’s a good lesson for them to learn 早期に: life isn’t always fair.

For now, though, I 正当化する the 不均衡 by 説 Elise needs me more than them ― they have a mum and a dad in their life, 反して Elise only has her mum.

On the 半端物 occasion when I do 扱う／治療する or spoil her sisters, I have to do it behind Elise’s 支援する or the green-注目する，もくろむd monster kicks in.

I don’t see it as pandering to her, though. Elise is at a very difficult age and needs the 安心 of knowing that someone on this 惑星 loves her 無条件に.

No 事柄 how 堅い life gets, or how awful she can be, I will always be her number one fan.

As told to Samantha Brick.