A recent study discovered that children, who are born second, have more trouble at school and are also more likely to get in trouble with the law later in life. This study is, of course, a pleasant news for the older siblings and not so great news for the younger ones.
This research was conducted in Denmark and in the state of Florida. These two places were chosen because they are very different from each other in culture and climate. The researchers, who conducted the study, were from MIT, Northwestern, and the University of Florida.
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The study found out that second-born children in both Denmark and Florida are more likely to run afoul of authority figures than their older siblings.
Despite the large differences of Denmark and Florida, the study showed that second-born boys are 20-40% more likely to enter the criminal justice system compared to first-born boys.
This statistic is pretty shocking, but what is causing the behavioral difference in children, who are born in a different order?
The researchers think that the problem with second-born children might be the lack of attention they get compared to their older siblings. Second-born children do not receive one-to-one focus because there is already another child as well. This might cause them to act out just to get some attention.
In addition to not getting so much attention because of the older siblings, research has shown that parents tend to take less time off work with their second child. This means that the second-born child also has to compete with work and other responsibilities for their parents’ attention.
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As the first-borns spend more time with grown-ups, they are more likely to be mature. The second-borns usually have to spend their time with other toddlers or a school-age child and look up to them as role models. But they will be naturally more impulsive, childish and egotistical.
Because of parents’ undivided attention, research has shown that first children tend to be smarter than their siblings as well. This means that children really do need full attention and one-to-one focus. It is important that parents work hard on their other children as well – read them bedtime stories, practice instruments with them and do crafts. All of these activities help to increase intelligence and logical thinking. It turns out that parents are not playing so enthusiastically with their second or third child and maybe do not understand the importance.
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The other thing, that might make the second child more troubling than the first, is the fact that parents get lazier when they get older. So when they are strict with their first-born and teach them about rules and responsibility, then they are not as strict with their next children, which actually has a negative effect on them.
Of course, parents love all their children the same, but it is important to give them the same amount of attention and focus as well. It is always easier to just give in to your child’s demands, but that does not teach them a valuable lesson. Think about the future and teach your kid to be a strong, helpful, caring person, who knows about the obligations and responsibilities.
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