Fake News and Articles

THIS is not true! In my family, the oldest was not the smartest. They would have held him back except he would have had a sibling as a classmate.

https://www.menshealth.com/trending...pZ5PAThi5tXqtWRGW23mXoHmtkIRwArgT-2dWMJXY3cJA

Science Confirms Your Older Sibling Is Probably Smarter Than You
You can blame this one on your parents

BY ALISA HRUSTIC
FEB 9, 2017
Ever feel like your parents always favored your older brother? He might have benefited from that more than you realize: First-born children are smarter than their siblings, according to a new University of Edinburgh study.

To further explain the “birth order effect”—a phenomenon that seeks to understand why some children born earlier in a family grow up to receive a higher-level of education and better-paying jobs—researchers followed 5,000 children from pre-birth to the age of 14. The kids were assessed every 2 years with reading, letter-matching, and picture vocabulary tests. They found that first-born children exhibited higher IQ scores than their younger siblings by the age of one.

Blame it on your mom and dad: While parents with multiple children gave all their kids the same amount of emotional support, first-borns received more intellectual support with tasks that improved their thinking skills. What’s more, parents took part in fewer brain-boosting activities with their younger kids, like reading with them, playing instruments, and doing crafts. To make it even worse, mothers were more likely to take health risks after having their first kid, like smoking while pregnant.

So yeah, your older brother might have had better grades than you, but he also had unique learning advantages as a kid—up until the age of 3, if you want to get specific. Next time he brags about his fancy job during a holiday dinner, feel free to call your parents out for never reading to you at bedtime.

Well, this is just a theory. We've operated our school for many, many years. So I've seen firstborns in the family, and siblings afterwards. Typically, firstborns are pampered and not necessarily encouraged to do things on their own...put on their shoes, jacket, put toys away. Usually 2nd borns and so on do learn from the firstborn, and they always have an advantage. They learn motor skills quickly because they are trying to keep up with the older sibling. Also 2nd borns are exposed to academics that the first born is learning.
I think the thinking above is because the writer feels that the firstborn has an advantage being the only child. What's the old saying about the firstborn having all the baby photos? Hardly any for the 5th born. Older siblings are great teachers for younger siblings. They may not be teaching them what the parents want....but oh well.

More junk science. A scientific study can prove anything you want to pay it to say.

Amish Heart said:

Well, this is just a theory. We've operated our school for many, many years. So I've seen firstborns in the family, and siblings afterwards. Typically, firstborns are pampered and not necessarily encouraged to do things on their own...put on their shoes, jacket, put toys away. Usually 2nd borns and so on do learn from the firstborn, and they always have an advantage. They learn motor skills quickly because they are trying to keep up with the older sibling. Also 2nd borns are exposed to academics that the first born is learning.
I think the thinking above is because the writer feels that the firstborn has an advantage being the only child. What's the old saying about the firstborn having all the baby photos? Hardly any for the 5th born. Older siblings are great teachers for younger siblings. They may not be teaching them what the parents want....but oh well.

Click to expand...

I have seen younger siblings get very competitive to beat the older sibling at various things.

I've seen it go both ways in different families. I feel like my sis and I are fairly equal in intelligence. But we certainly have different things we are good at and not so good at.

I know the discussion is about who is smarter, the eldest or youngest, but other factors weigh in also.
My sibs used to gripe at me that I got away with way more than they ever did. I told them it was because I learned from their behavior and mistakes and I knew how to work the system (mom and dad, school).
The truth is probably that I was just not quite as bad or wild as they were. Plus, by then our parents were wiser, therefore more lenient, and possibly tired. Or maybe they didnt care quite as much.
My sibs are all very smart. To say the eldest is the smartest only shows us that they always like to get their bossy way in everything. Did I say that?