According to some people, the eldest sibling gets less attention, science has now proved this is not the case. A study by the University of Edinburgh on the birth order effect revealed that the eldest siblings are more intelligent.
Researchers believe that these findings may better explain the birth order effect. This is when children born earlier in the family enjoy better wages and more education in later life.
The study followed 5,000 children up to the age of 14, testing them every year for reading and vocabulary. Results showed that first-born children exhibited higher IQ scores than their younger siblings by the age of one.
First-born children received more intellectual support with tasks that improved their thinking skills than their younger siblings.
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The research shows that eldest siblings enjoy these benefits from just after birth until around three years of age. The differences increased slightly with age. This was apparent in test scores that measured verbal, reading, maths and comprehension abilities.
So if you're the youngest and you're the less successful one, it's your parent's fault, not yours.
