Regression and why it affects singletons more than multiples

Jeffrey Kluger, Science Journalist & Author, explains why firstborn kids, former singletons, will go through regression when a new baby comes along and how to help that child out of it
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Regression and why it affects singletons more than multiples

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Regression is an early return to a stage in development that firstborn kids, former singletons, will sometimes go through in order to win back the attention that the new baby in the family is getting that they used to get exclusively. Twins and triplets are less likely to exhibit regression. If they do, they are likely to exhibit it for a much shorter period of time because they have the attention of one another. The uniqueness of the relationship between siblings and among siblings is that they have the bond that they have literally shared from the egg stage. They've shared a bond from the time they were in the womb. They will generally carry this throughout their entire lives. As a result, when a new baby comes along, they pull even closer together. You see this across the entire sibling experience, crises or emergencies or changes in a child's world, generally, will bring siblings closer rather than pull them apart.

Jeffrey Kluger, Science Journalist & Author, explains why firstborn kids, former singletons, will go through regression when a new baby comes along and how to help that child out of it

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Jeffrey Kluger

Science Journalist & Author

Jeffrey Kluger is a senior editor and writer at Time magazine, covering science, health and other fields. He is the coauthor, along with astronaut Jim Lovell, of Apollo 13, the book that served as the basis of the 1995 movie. His more-recent release, Splendid Solution, told the story of Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine.  His novel, Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats, was published in June 2007, and his newest nonfiction book, Simplexity: Why Simple Things Become Complex, was published in June 2008.

Before coming to Time, Kluger worked for Discover magazine, where he was a senior editor and humor columnist. Prior to that, he was health editor at Family Circle magazine, story editor at The New York Times Business World Magazine, and Associate Editor at Science Digest magazine. His features and columns have appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Gentlemen's Quarterly, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Omni, McCall's, New York Magazine, The New York Post, Newsday, and, of course, Time. He has worked as an adjunct instructor in the graduate journalism program at New York University; is a licensed—though non-practicing—attorney; and is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the University of Baltimore School of Law. He lives in New York City with his wife Alejandra and their daughters, Elisa and Paloma.

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