Statistics don't lie: Firstborns do get more time with parents

WASHINGTON — When her oldest child was in kindergarten, Laura Haggerty-Lacalle reviewed reading or math with her every day, intent on providing that most precious commodity of all: parent time.

But when her second child hit the same age, life was more hectic. Now, with a third child, the 37-year-old Virginia mother feels good when she gets five minutes to stack blocks or build Legos. "When you have three kids," she says, "you're just trying to survive."

Within this familiar progression of family life, new research has confirmed what some parents recognize and others quietly fear: Their firstborn children get more of their time than others in the family — on average, 3,000 extra "quality" hours from ages 4 to 13, when sisters and brothers are in the picture.

That's 25 extra minutes a day with mothers on average and 20 extra minutes a day with fathers across a nine-year span, according to a study by economist Joseph Price of Brigham Young University.

Some parents find themselves surprised by the lopsided time log, but the big question, experts say, is whether this difference helps explain findings that show firstborn children get better test scores, more education and higher-paying jobs.

The new study defined quality time with parents as minutes spent together on such activities as homework, meals, reading, playtime, sports, teaching, arts, religion and conversation. In all categories, firstborns got more, according to the study, published in the Journal of Human Resources.

Price pointed out that parents generally spend equal time with their children on any given day but spend less time with their children as the family ages. For example, mothers in two-child families spend 136 minutes a day with their firstborns at age 7. By the time the secondborn is that age, they spend 114 minutes.

Birth-order differences were largest in activities Price thought to be most important, such as reading and playing together. Secondborns prevailed in one category: watching television with parents. Price did not count this as quality time.

Why parents spend less time with children as a family ages wasn't studied, but Price offered some reasons, including fatigue, age and a waning novelty.