 News
16th April 2008
Parents are
stricter with first-bornsFirst-born siblings have long complained
that their parents allow their younger brothers and sisters to get away with murder.
While they are forced to toe the line, they claim their mothers and fathers
are far less strict with their naughty siblings. Now research has confirmed
their suspicions that parents punish older children more harshly. One small
consolation, however, is that this "tough love" ends up benefiting the whole family.
Parents believe establishing a reputation as a disciplinarian with the
eldest child is more likely to deter younger brothers and sisters from behaving
badly, according to an American study. Researchers looked at two measures
of adolescent rebellion - dropping out of school and getting pregnant. These
were compared with two measures of parental punishment - not allowing a teenager
to live in the family home and not financially supporting them. The analysis,
published in the Economic Journal, shows parents were more likely to withdraw
their support from first-born children who got into trouble than younger siblings
who ended up in the same situation. This is despite the fact that younger
siblings were more likely to engage in these forms of behaviour, particularly
dropping out of school. Researchers believe that parents feel the need
to maintain a reputation among their children for following through on threatened
punishments. As a result, they have more incentive to punish their first-born
in a bid to limit further risk-taking behaviour in their family. They have
less incentive to make an example of younger children as they believe they have
already made a stand. The study shows first-born children often recognise
their parents are likely to be tougher on their transgressions and are generally
deterred from being rebellious. Ginger Zhe Jin, assistant professor of
economics at the University of Maryland, admitted she and her husband became stricter
with their son after their daughter was born. She added: "The theory predicts
that last-born children, knowing that they can get away with much more than their
older brothers and sisters, and only children are, on average, more likely to
engage in risky behaviour." Joseph Hotz, economics professor at Duke University
in Durham, North Carolina, added: "My older sister always complains that she never
got away with anything when she was growing up, and we all agree that my younger
sister got away with murder." Where to next? | 
