Attentive Older Siblings
Studies show that children from larger families score more poorly on tests of IQ, vocabulary, and other academic indicators than kids from smaller families. Experts attribute this in part to reduced parental attention resulting from the need to divide time and attention among the children. This effect appears to be mitigated in families where older siblings are attuned to their younger siblings’ abilities and interact positively with them. A recent study found that children from large families who had “cognitively sensitive” older siblings performed better on a vocabulary test than those whose siblings were not. More… Discuss