A growing collection of studies suggests that being the youngest sibling may come along with some major health advantages. Researchers have found that the baby of the family is often slimmer and less prone to illness. As a result, younger siblings can expect to live longer than their older brothers and sisters.
Being the youngest has its perks.
The baby in your family is more likely to be the most craic, according to expert Dr Catherine Salmon. She explained that the youngest child tends to have a more happy-go-lucky attitude because their parents aren't as harsh on them.
First-born kids tend to be leaders, like CEOS and founders, and are more likely to achieve traditional success. Middle-born children often embody a mix of the traits of older and younger siblings, and they're very relationship-focused.
So while your parents may love and care for all their children equally, firstborns tend to get the most mental stimulation, since they receive the undivided attention of both parents and all that first-time anxiety.
It's hard to be the big sib. No matter how old you are, you're expected to take more responsibility, even when you're a very young person yourself. That's one reason that oldest children are often described as responsible, sensitive, perfectionistic, and a bit more anxious than their siblings.
According to Adler, the first born is more susceptible to depression because of high expectations of parents and suddenly losing the attention due to another sibling being born.
Researchers have found a correlation between risk-taking and being the last-born sibling.
While the youngest sibling is usually the funniest kid, mom and dad favor the youngest for a reason that might surprise you. According to a new study conducted by Brigham Young University's School of Family Life, the youngest sibling of the family tends to be mom and dad's favorite child because of perception.
Grow your family to at least four children! According to a study out of Australia's Edith Cowan University, parents with the most life satisfaction (which means those who are the happiest) are those that have four or more children.
Many previous studies looked into this relationship. There is evidence that the first born children experience more stress than their younger siblings. Weiss (1970), conducted a study to assess the relation between birth order and anxiety.
Oldest child syndrome refers to a number of characteristics people develop as an outcome of being the first-born. For instance, following the birth of another baby, the firstborn goes from being the “only child” of their parents to having to share their parent's love and attention with a younger sibling.
Researchers have found that the baby of the family is often slimmer and less prone to illness. As a result, younger siblings can expect to live longer than their older brothers and sisters.
First borns (fb's) are unique in a family system. They are the only children who have their parents exclusive focus, time and energy. These children have the unobstructed resource of parental attention. However, parent's attention is both on the child and that child's environment.
“In general, high agreeableness, extraversion (the social dimension) and openness are associated with youngest children,” Dr. Salmon says, “and sometimes low conscientiousness due to lack of responsibilities and parental indulgence over expectations.
They found that one or two children made no difference to happiness, for men or women. However, this study found that three or more children negatively affected well-being. But there is more to life than just happiness. Often, the moments we truly savor are stressful.
An actual study revealed one to two children is the ideal number for “happiness”, but with two you don't have to deal with the aforementioned only child issues.
A recent study has found that it's not the youngest child that's liked the most. It's actually the eldest! While eldest children around the world have had to be the example for their younger siblings and parents being extra strict on them, it looks like there was a good reason.
Golden child syndrome, or being a “golden child,” is a term typically used by family, and most often by parents, to refer to a child in the family that's regarded as exceptional in some way. The golden child is expected to be extraordinary at everything, not make mistakes, and essentially be “perfect.”
Both mothers and fathers are perceived as favoring genetically-related children. The results also suggest that the birth order of the parental favorite varies with the birth order of the participant. Firstborns and lastborns report a pattern of favoritism that suggests parents favor firstborn and lastborn children.
A new study shows that first-born children tend to be smarter than their siblings and second-born children are more likely to cause trouble. The University of Edinburgh study reported that the oldest child tends to have a higher IQ and thinking skills than their younger siblings.
Middle siblings may not wind up as the corporate chiefs or the comedians, but whatever they do, they're likely to do it more collegially and agreeably—and, as a result, more successfully—than other siblings. Your birth order may be immutable, but the talents and traits it leaves you with don't have to be.
Successful in journalism, advertising, sales and the arts, famous youngest children include Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey, Drew Carey, Rosie O'Donnell, Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal. Only Children: Only children have similar characteristics to firstborns and are frequently burdened with high parental expectations.