41 per cent of Surrey parents admit they actively dislike one or more of their children’s friends.

Similarly, one in three say they can’t stand the parents of one of their kid’s friends either.

The survey, run by Voucherbox, wanted to find out if parents fight as much in the playground as their children do.

The reasons for disliking their children’s friends vary dramatically, but the most likely reasons are because they are badly behaved, obnoxious, bullying or manipulative.

It’s not just teenagers that parents are worried about causing a bad influence, as 34 per cent of the children that parents dislike are actually aged between two and five years old.

29 per cent of parents will subtly attempt to encourage other friendships, while 24 per cent will keep quiet and silently seethe as their child spends time with a seemingly bad influence.

30 per cent of parents have an issue with the parents of their child’s friends, with 17 per cent claiming the reason is because they don’t control their child.

Shane Forster, country manager of Voucherbox, said:“Whether their kids will make friends is always a worry for parents. However, we don’t often think about what to do when they do make friends, but the grown-ups don’t like them.

“We are more used to learning about tension on the playground between kids rather than between adults, but it has been very interesting to see that when it comes to the parents they can often disapprove of their child’s choice of playmate.”