Sorry second child, but studies have confirmed that you’re more of a pain in the neck to raise than any other.

Turns out, birth order makes a difference.

While you may have thought that becoming a parent was hard enough the first time around, your second child will really test you.

A team of researchers studied families with two boys and they found some interesting behavioral differences between the older brother and the younger brother.

So, if you’ve ever thought that your oldest child was an angel and your younger child was born to test you, this research might explain why and give you some interesting solutions.

The studies have shown that the second child will most likely spend more time in the principal’s office and is more likely to be disciplined at school by 20-40%.

However, before we start thinking the firstborn child is now our favourite child, the survey also showed that it may come down to the role parents play. The survey found that parents invest more time with first-borns at ages 2-4, suggesting that the arrival of the “second-born child extends early-childhood parental investments for first-borns.”

 

So, it’s never a bad thing to schedule more quality time with your little guys. At the end of the day, although the second child may be a pain in your backside sometimes, it is always a good thing to take advantage of the time you have with them.