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.)

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(Agencies)