Older parents have brighter children?

[Anon778833]

This is only intended to be lighthearted. It occurs to me that the youngest children in families I know tended to be very bright. I know 4 families where the youngest went to Oxbridge.

Do older parents have brighter children? I'm sure I've read an article about it somewhere.

There is a bias of older mothers being more career motivated, better educated and more resources to invest in a child's development. Better odds of having moved into the dearer catchment of a desirable school. Life experience and confidence help in dealing with professionals if the child has difficulties. These factors would help optimise a child's development and would create a population wide bias to older mothers having "brighter" children. It's not a universal truth.

I'm the youngest of 3 and my parents were jn their 40's when they had me. My significantly older brothers are waaaay smarter than me. So we atheist down support that stat

My parents were in their 20s when they had me and I am more academic than my (10 years) younger sister. DS is very smart and is the youngest of DH's children (he was in his 40s) but my only child (I was 21 when I had him). I don't know what that proves though... does DH's advanced dotage overrule my young age? Or have my intelligence and his age combined to make a child who is smarter than his siblings? We will never know now!

My parents were in their teens having my older sister. She was in mensa at 12 and first in the family to go to uni.

@VienneseWhirligig

My parents were in their 20s when they had me and I am more academic than my (10 years) younger sister. DS is very smart and is the youngest of DH's children (he was in his 40s) but my only child (I was 21 when I had him). I don't know what that proves though... does DH's advanced dotage overrule my young age? Or have my intelligence and his age combined to make a child who is smarter than his siblings? We will never know now!

The research about child intelligence only applies when the Mum is older, not the dad, as that is the data that is easiest to track.

Interesting. In my experience the smartest people I know are either the eldest child or the only child. With only children I thought it was because the parents had more time for them and eldest because they had parent’s undivided attention until their sibling was born before then often being “the responsible one”. Obviously not the case for all but just looking at the people I know.

Also think the same as BogrollBOGOF!

I am one of 5, if I had to rank us on intelligence it would be

2
1 eldest
4
5 youngest
3

Not saying which one I am 🤣

In my family, I’m the eldest and it’s me (in my lighthearted opinion) and with my dc, it’s the youngest.
There’s something we both have in common. We’re both females so I conclude that girls are always brighter.