The answer is yes.  That is if you are the older sibling.

Siblings were IQ tested showed that the older sibling tested higher on intelligence tests.  No there was no magic brain juice in the womb but as you read on this will make more sense. On average older siblings score 2-3 points higher on intelligence tests because of their birth order.

The reasoning that first born have a higher IQ result is because of of the amount of attention they are given throughout their lives. Parents tend to favor the older child based on the amount of time and money dedicated to the development of that child. As more children are born to those parents the amount of attention paid to the subsequent children is spread thinner.

The older child is also more likely to be a college graduate, particeipate in athletics, takes some sort of abnormal class and more. The older child is also thrust into their family as the one that has to be responsible for his or hers younger brothers and sisters.  The older child always seems to be the one put “in charge” while the parents are away.

While this is going on in the family younger siblings feel like that they have to excel in something that the older sibling may not be very good at, like sports or feel like they have to be the most popular one. Many times the “black sheep” of the family is one of the younger siblings because they are looking for attention in negative ways.

When favoritism is showed to a child it is usually the older one that is the “favorite”. Of course as siblings we really think that mom and dad do have favorites. But they don’t really love the other one more. Do they?