Is this parental pride – or are my children actually talented?

We’ve all laughed at parents convinced their sons and daughters are possessed by a talent they don’t actuallly have... but is it ever possible to stay objective about one’s offspring, asks Will Gore

Doesn’t every mother or father run the risk of mistaking unconditional love for their child with a totally misguided belief in their offspring’s genius? (Getty Images)

Parental pride can be a dangerous thing.

We all remember those episodes of The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and the like, when Ellie from Lincolnshire arrives with her doting mum and dad, convinced this will be the beginning of a remarkable career.

“She’s been singing since she was three,” confides mum, apparently unaware that all toddlers warble along to the CBeebies bedtime song.