Flip through any family photo album and you’ll typically see a million pictures of the new baby. Then watch that number dwindle significantly with each subsequent child.
A Daily Mail survey of 1,413 respondents confirms what most of us already know: almost half of the parents (46 per cent) admitted to taking more pictures of their first child as compared to their younger brothers and sisters.
Now remember, that’s a subjective report from parents who are trained to never single out one child over another as a favourite. A slight 51 per cent majority insist that they have an equal number of photos of all their children.
With the addition of each child, most parents said they just didn’t have the time – although three per cent of parents said they actually took more photos of their younger kids.
Educational psychologist Dr Michele Borba believes this apparent favouritism could be a contributing factor in the theory of ‘Second Child Syndrome,’ which looks at the effect of birth order on personality.
“Sibling rivalry is common place in families, especially large families with three or more children,” she said.