Mothers think their youngest children are smaller than they actually are, a latest research states.
The study by researchers at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, sheds some light why the youngest child in a family is perceived as a 'baby.'
"Contrary to what many may think, this isn't happening just because the older child just looks so big compared to a baby," Jordy Kaufman, lead researcher stated in a news release. "It actually happens because all along the parents were under an illusion that their first child was smaller than he or she really was. When the new baby is born, the spell is broken and parents now see their older child as he or she really is."
Kaufman and the research team arrived at the conclusion after interviewing 747 mothers. The results revealed that 70 percent mothers "felt" that their first child suddenly grew taller after the birth of new infant.
The researchers asked mothers to guess the height of one of their young children by marking on a wall. The results showed that mothers notably misjudged the height of their youngest child by 7.5 cm on average. But, their guess for their elder children's height was accurate.
"The key implication is that we may treat our youngest children as if they are actually younger than they really are," said Kaufman. "In other words, our research potentially explains why the 'baby of the family' never outgrows that label. To the parents, the baby of the family may always be 'the baby.'"
"We cannot trust the accuracy of our perceptions," Kaufman added. "In this case, it shows that our feelings and knowledge of our children affect how we actually perceive them. But it's important to consider that this misperception may actually make it easier to quickly distinguish one's youngest child from the other children."
The findings are published in the journal 'Current Biology.'
