Even though parents deny that they have a favorite child, a recent research revealed that moms and dads have their favored kid. The study looked into sibling pairs and asked them on how they are treated by their parents.
According to NYMag, a study conducted by Katherine Conger asked brothers and sisters questions that weighed if they felt there was a special treatment on them or their siblings. The research noted that firstborns are given more attention by their parents since they are able to spend more time with them.
On the other hand, the kids that follow feel that they are not given much attention especially when there are more than two children in the family. Also, parents become stricter and tougher when the eldest child has set standards for their siblings.
"I was a little surprised by that," Conger was quoted by NY Mag as saying, "Our working hypothesis was that older, earlier born children would be more affected by perceptions of differential treatment due to their status as older child - more power due to age and size, more time with parents - in the family."
A similar study conducted by Brigham Young University and Pennsylvania State University last year also noted that parents see their eldest child as the "most capable." Huffington Post said this pattern only changed when their oldest child is a boy and their youngest is a girl.
It also noted that the way that parents view the academic performance of their kids affects their grades. The favored ones have higher grades while those not favored tend to have lower or sometimes failing grades.
To explain why parents usually favor their firstborns, Huffington Post said that first children are usually competitive and impressive because a lot is expected from them. "The thing is, younger siblings in the study tended to follow their parents' lead and actually underperform in comparison to an older, favored sibling," said researchers from Brigham Young and Pennsylvania State.
