First Born and A Higher IQ

I was reading Parenting magazine yesterday that had a story about higher IQ in the first born. This story was released earlier this summer. I did not pay much attention to the article and research this summer since I do not put much thought into IQ and how I am effecting my children.

First, many people believe your IQ is pretty much set from birth. While things can change and make an influence, your God given gifts are there the day you enter this world. The nature vs. nurture idea does have some clout and environment can definitely have an impact. But I do know do a lot of "extra" activities trying to make my children gifted. I do ask a lot of how and why questions to encourage thinking, which I think is a lot more important than a number from a test.

In the case of this study, there are many ideas that allow for some flawed logic First, the study was done in Norway. Those of us in the US may not have the same genetics or experiences to compare. Second, the study was only done on boys. What does that mean for the girls. Third, they used data from MANY DECADES- not current testing and statistics. The testing procedures and populations have changed over the years. And lastly, a three point difference between the oldest and youngest is not enough to be concerned with. Testing have a range of scores to take into consideration testing environment, learning environment, and cultural and economic difference.

So do not place a lot of weight in your child's birth order. Love your children, provide them with lots of learning activities, but most of all, let them play and discover what they love!