It
appears possible that the first-born may be, on the average, inferior
both physically and mentally to the children who come directly after
him; on the other hand, the number of first-born who attain eminence is
greater than would be expected on the basis of pure chance. More data
are needed to clear up this problem.[168]
2. The advantage to a child of being a member of a large or small family
is a question of importance. In these days of birth control, the
argument is frequently heard that large families are an evil of
themselves, the children in them being handicapped by the excessive
child-bearing of the mother. The statistics cited in support of this
claim are drawn from the slums, where the families are marked by poverty
and by physical and mental inferiority. It can easily be shown, by a
study of more favored families, that the best children come from the
large fraternities. In fact Alexander Graham Bell found evidence,[169]
in his investigation of the Hyde Family in America, that the families of
10 or more children were those which showed the greatest longevity (see
Figs. 42 and 43). In this connection, longevity is of course a mark of
vitality and physical fitness.
3. The question of the effect of child-bearing on the mother is equally
important, since exponents of birth control are urging that mothers
should not bear more children than they desire.
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