i have an older brother, 20. older sister, turning 19. identical twin sister, 17, same as me. we're all pretty close, i love my siblings a lot. closest with my twin sister, we're closer then a lot of people are with their twins

First-borns have higher IQ scores

 

Elder siblings may learn through teaching younger ones

 

The child raised as the eldest in a family is likely to have a higher IQ than his or her siblings, work reveals. A Norwegian team found first born children and those who had lost elder siblings and had hence become the eldest, scored higher on intelligence.

The link, reported in Science, was found by looking at more than 250,000 male Norwegian conscripts.

Experts have disagreed for decades about how birth order might influence intellect and achievement.

Brainier

Supporters of the theory argue the eldest child gets more undivided attention from their parents from an early age.

Others claim differences occur in the womb before birth because with each subsequent pregnancy the mother produces higher levels of antibodies that may attack the foetal brain.

While others claim the relationship between birth order and intelligence is false, being biased by family size - historically, couples with lower IQs have tended to have more children than couples with higher IQs.

We found that it is the son's social position and not his biological position that counts

 

 

Researcher Professor Petter Kristensen

 

Professor Petter Kristensen, at the National Institute of Occupational Health in Oslo, and colleague Tor Bjerkedal, at the Norwegian Armed Forces Medical Service, said although the IQ difference they found in their study groups was small, it was significant.

The findings also suggested that the trend was down to social rather than biological differences, they said.

For example, men who were third born but who then lost an elder sibling in early childhood and so were raised as the second born had IQ scores close to those of "genuine" second-borns.

Professor Kristensen said: "We found that it is the son's social position and not his biological position that counts."

Frank Sulloway, of the Institute of Personality and Social Research at the University of California, has been studying how upbringing influences personality and intelligence.

He told the Daily Telegraph the higher IQ in the first-born could, in part, be gained by their tutoring of younger siblings.

"In addition, the tendency for first-borns to occupy the niche of a surrogate parent, and to take on the role of the conscientious, self-disciplined and mature sibling may also explain why first-borns have higher IQs," he said.

I heard that on the news last night.

Too bad I'm the baby. :dozey:

^I guess this means Paris Hilton must be the youngest of 50................... :rolleyes:

^I guess this means Paris Hilton must be the youngest of 50................... :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

 

mmm 50??

 

I'd say more

mmm 50??

 

I'd say more

 

You might have a point.:rolleyes:

so I'm stupid then?:laugh3: I'm the youngest one

my parents used to do that' date=' its so damn annoying[/quote'] yeah, I believe you. It's like you can never escape from them. :\

 

haha i was forced to but it was my fault cos my mum trusted me but one friday night i said " hey mum ' date=' i'll be back later" and i showed up on usnday morning haha it was a wild party and then crashed at some friend's place but when i got home my mum was freaking out and i got grounded for 1 month haha oh well, i was 14 anyway so i wasnt allowed to go out unless i left a phone number or something :P[/quote'] :shocked2: wow. that's ... A LOT for a 14-year-old. :stunned: I think that your mum got a good excuse for that. ;) but ... being grounded for 1 month ... unimaginable.

 

 

 

Speaking of IQs, I've just read that a 2-year-old girl speaks English fluently and wants to learn French and has IQ 150 or something. :stunned:

^ that's insane!

 

i have a big family, couple of brothers and 3 sisters. they use to spoil the oldest till everyone else came along, but now that everyone has virtually left the nest besides the youngest, she is getting spoiled. since i'm in the middle i can't win : ohwell : lol

I have two younger sisters. They're both 10-12 years younger than me. It sucked growing up with them.I was like a built in babysitter for them. Oh well, they're not as annoying anymore.

I have two younger sisters. They're both 10-12 years younger than me. It sucked growing up with them.I was like a built in babysitter for them. Oh well, they're not as annoying anymore.

 

Well that's OK - they can look after you when you're old!!:P

i have two older siblings, my sister's 21 and my brother's 24.

 

my sister and i have been pretty close the last couple of years, following bands and stuff. we share a room and she pays for my food and booze. my brother has two jobs and likes cars.

Well that's OK - they can look after you when you're old!!:P

 

My mum always tells me this :P

 

I've got a 2 year-old sister... She's very cute, but sometimes she annoys me :angry:

:lol:

3 brothers and 2 sisters... all younger than me... and, I just LOVE them like hell... they're my reason to live since we lost our mom and later left our dad... I don't believe there are siblings more united than us!!!