Most mothers would agree they treated the first child differently to later children.

Mothers really do favour their 'precious first borns' over the children they have later, research has found.

Among examples of attention lavished¹ on the 'precious first borns' (PFBs) were tales of how mothers rubbed shampoo into their own eyes before using it on their baby to ensure it wouldn't sting, and pulling their prams² backwards³ for miles to keep the sun off their adored offspring.

While they will conscientiously⁴ disinfect everything that comes into contact with their PFB and change them up to 150 times a week, their later children have to make do with items licked clean by the dog and stew⁵ in their own juices until their parents are ready to deal with them.

The term PFB and its poorer sibling⁶ the Neglected Subsequent Children (NSCs) were coined by members of the parenting website Mumsnet.

Among the tales reported was one of a mother that used a hairdryer on her baby's bottom after changing her.

"She was chatting to her neighbour and asked if they were ever disturbed by her crying,"

"The neighbour assured her they were not, but that they had been woken once or twice by what sounded like a hairdryer."

Another self-obsessed mother turned down an invitation to a friend and her baby's christening party because she thought her own child's "total gorgeousness would show their baby up and make them feel bad".

Another confirmed the differing hygiene⁷ practices used for Child One and Two, saying: "First child, suckable items must be sterilised in Milton or steam after they've dropped on the floor. Second child: items must be wiped over with a clean damp cloth.

"Third child: give them to the dog to lick clean."

Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet, told the reporters that most mothers would agree they treated the first child differently to later children.

"Precious First Born syndrome⁸ is something we can all relate to – most mums will confess to having checked on their sound asleep firstborns several times a night, whilst Neglected Subsequent Children are liable to bawl⁹ for an age before we even notice," she said.

最新研究表明，妈妈确实偏爱长子长女。

有很多例子可以证明妈妈对“宝贝老大”所付出的极度关爱，例如在给宝宝擦洗发水前，为确保不刺激皮肤，妈妈会先擦一些在自己眼睛上。为了自己可爱的宝贝不被太阳晒到，妈妈还会倒推婴儿车数英里。

妈妈会将老大能摸到的每样物品都认真消毒，每周更换尿片高达150次。但对待老小们，只要是狗舔干净的东西就行，在父母有空理他们之前，只能自己受着。

PFB（宝贝老大）和可怜的弟弟妹妹即“被忽略的老小”（NSCs）这两种说法是育儿网站“Mumsnet”的成员创造的。

在众多例子中据说有这样一个故事，讲的是一位妈妈在给宝宝换尿布以后用吹风机把她的屁股吹干。

“她当时在和邻居聊天，问他们有没有被宝宝的哭声打扰。”

“邻居们很肯定地告诉她没有，但却被听着像吹风机的声音吵醒过一两次。”

另一位“自恋”的妈妈拒绝了朋友的邀请，不去参加朋友宝宝的洗礼仪式，因为她觉得自己的孩子“太耀眼了，会把别人的孩子比下去，让他们感觉难堪。”

另一句话则印证了妈妈对老大和老小的卫生保健也不同，“老大吮吸的东西掉到地上之后都要用米顿消毒液或者蒸汽杀菌，而老二的用干净的湿布擦擦就行了。”

“至于老三么，让狗把脏东西舔干净就可以了。”

“Mumsnet”的合作创始人贾斯汀•罗伯茨在接受记者采访时称，大多数妈妈都承认自己对老大和老小的态度不同。

她说：“很多现象都与‘宝贝老大’这种情结有关。大多数母亲坦称在老大睡觉时，会每天起夜数次看宝宝是不是睡得香，而‘被忽略的老小’则要喊很久，我们才会注意到。”

Vocabulary:

stew in one's own juices：自作自受

coin：to make; invent; fabricate（创造，杜撰）

christening：the ceremony of baptism, esp. as accompanied by the giving of a name to a child.（洗礼）

for an age：很久