研究显示:子女少的家庭对孩子成长更有利

Every kid from a small family has probably felt sorry for themselves at one time or another for not having loads of brother and sisters. From the outside looking in, there's a lot to envy about families that have enough kids to field their own baseball game, produce complex harmonies a la "The Sound of Music," or put on a play without casting stuffed animals in major roles.

每个来自小家庭的孩子可能都或多或少感到遗憾，因为他们没有一大堆兄弟姐妹陪伴成长。从表面上看，如果一个家庭中有足够多的孩子来打属于他们自己家庭的棒球，或者是在《音乐之声》中演唱复杂的和声，再或者是在一场家庭剧中不使用动物来充当主要角色，这实在是很令人羡慕的一件事，

But a new study shows there are convincing reasons not to romanticize large families. The study suggests that with every additional kid born, the other siblings are more likely to suffer from lower cognitive abilities and more behavioral issues, and have worse outcomes later in life.

但一项新研究显示，我们有令人信服的理由证明，不应美化多子女家庭。该研究发现，每增加一个孩子，其他孩子认知能力降低的可能性就更高，他们会出现更多行为问题，未来生活的结局也会更糟。

The researchers found that the birth of another kid also lowered the overall amount of education that each child received.

研究人员发现，多生一个孩子还会降低每个孩子受教育的程度。

Countries like Norway, which have extensive welfare programs, parental leave and other supportive policies for families, and strong public education, might see less of a trade-off for families between the quantity and quality of children, they hypothesize. But parents in countries like the United States and China, might be forced to choose, they say.

他们认为，在像挪威这样拥有完善的社会福利体系、父母有足够的休假、拥有其他的家庭扶持政策，以及强大的公共教育的国家中，每个家庭不太会去权衡孩子的数量和质量这一问题。但是那些生活在像美国和中国这样国家的父母，必须要在两者之中做出选择。