By Kate Nateras
There is always that old sibling rivalry where both siblings struggle to know who is smarter and who is the favorite, and even the parents get involved, having to referee the fights and decide who is right. Now, get ready to know the truth because, if you are the younger one, it is likely that your whole life has been a lie: your older sibling is smarter, and it’s not your parents saying it, it’s science.
A study conducted by economists at the University of Edinburgh and Sydney, says that parents tend to provide more mental stimuli to older children, and for this reason, they are more likely to be successful in school and make more money.
In the study published in The Journal of Human Resources, the researchers were responsible for monitoring the cases of almost 5 thousand children from birth up to when they were 14 years old; every two years they applied reading tests and cognitive skills tests to the participants.
Researchers discovered that there are differences in children’s perception of intelligence, since older siblings accepted that they were quicker to understand things compared to their older siblings, and also agreed with the idea that they were better at abstract thought, and had a wider vocabulary than the younger siblings.
The researchers also found that, even from their first year, older children had a higher score on IQ tests.
In the results, they also observed that the parents of more than one child spent the same time with all the children, but they provide more mental stimulation, such as reading in the afternoon, making crafts, and drawing, etc., to the old children.
To conclude that older siblings are smarter than younger siblings and that there is a variation in intellect according to the order of birth, scientists considered several factors, like certain conditions during pregnancy and even environmental factors, but the truth is that there is no clear answer on the subject.
Parents give the same attention to all their kids, but they influenced your older sibling’s IQ more than yours. But do not feel bad: if you are the youngest you are surely the favorite and the most spoiled of the two.
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A Family United Under The Wings Of A Magpie
The Russian Family That Lived In Total Isolation
5 Reasons Why You Should Break Up With Your S.O. Before The Holidays
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