Reader\'s Digest Australia - 06.2019

June• 2019 | 87

ELDEST CHILDREN

ARE LEADERS

Eldest children tend to be ambitious,

driven leaders. “The firstborn gets

a lot of focus and attention as there

are no other children for distraction,”

says child and family therapist Meri

Wallace, a uthor ofBirth Or der Blues.

“The child can get lots of teaching, and

so can grow up to feel self-confident

and strong enough to be a leader.”

This leadership role was noted

by psychologist Alan Stewart in his

2012 definitive analysis of birth order

studies. Plus, parents often ask first-

borns to help with younger siblings

and chores, which develops their

leadership role.

“Mum will say, ‘I have to take

a shower, go watch the baby for a

while,’ so the firstborn knows how to

Birth orderhas a

great influence on

child development,

specifically because

parents tend to raise

each sibling differently

• which can be both
  good and bad. But

read on before you go

blaming your parents

be responsible and nurturing,” says

Wallace. “The firstborn gets lots of

education in being a leader.”

OLDER CHILDREN

ARE SMARTER

Much research, including a recent

study from The University of Edin-

burgh, shows that oldest children

tend to have higher IQs than sub-

sequent children. This could be be-

cause parents provide more mental

stimulation to their firstborn. “The

time that parents have available to

read to their first child, to explain

things, is greater,” says Wallace.

“Parents tend to talk to the old-

est more – whether they’re home

or going for a walk outside. Parents

might ask ‘Why do you think the sky

is blue?’ or ‘Why do you think the

leaves are changing colour?’”

Older children then develop more

analytic and conceptual thinking

skills. This could be why 21 of the first

23 NASA astronauts were firstborns.

“They have larger vocabularies and

learn to think like adults, which is

why they are so responsible,” says psy-

chologist and birth order researcher,

Linda Campbell. But the downside of

this added parental attention is that

firstborns feel more pressure to do

well. “The oldest can become a per-

fectionist, and worry that if they don’t

get things perfect they’re not valuable

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES or lovable,” says Wallace.