“If you
are the oldest child, be honored. It means that you were so awesome that your
parents kept trying to duplicate.” (Somee Cards)
If
you're the middle or youngest child, this won't be easy to read. Apparently,
research has found that first-born children are likely to be more intelligent
than their siblings. This could spark some arguments.
A study by economists at the University of Edinburgh, Analysis Group and University of Sydney has shown that
first-born children have better thinking skills as well as a higher IQ test
score than their younger brothers and sisters as early as age one, The Guardian
reports.
The findings suggest that this could
be down to the eldest children receiving more mental stimulation. Although
parents were found to provide the same level of emotional support to their
children, the first-borns were given undivided attention with tasks that
boosted thinking skills.
“Parents always make their worst mistakes with their oldest children.
That's when parents know the least and care the most, so they're more likely to
be wrong and also more likely to insist that they're right.” (Orson Scott Card)
The
study, which used data collected by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, examined
nearly 5,000 children from pre-birth to age 14 and considered factors such as
family background and economic conditions.
The first-borns scored higher on
tests including reading and picture vocabulary, which according to the researchers
could reflect the 'birth order effect'. This means children born earlier in a
family go on to have a better level of education and earns higher wages further
down the line.
"Our results suggest that broad
shifts in parental behavior are a plausible explanation for the observed birth
order differences in education and labor market outcomes," Dr Ana
Nuevo-Chiquero, from Edinburgh University's school of economics, said.
There is a downside to being the
eldest, though. A 2009 study
found that first-born children are almost twice as likely to face pressure to
succeed in school as their younger siblings.[i]
 |
| Me and my younger sister Kim as children and at my college graduation, |
[i] Adapted from the article, “First-Born Children Are Smarter than Their
Siblings, Says Study” by Katie Jones
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