A new study indicates that birth order really has nothing to do with the development of personality in children. In the past, scientists expected that birth order might invite, say, the oldest child to develop leadership or the youngest child to feel isolated or to grow up spoiled.

However, the study says that none of these studies indicate this is true. “This is a very small difference that would not be visible in any way with the ‘naked eye,’ and it’s unlikely to be meaningful for any real-world outcomes,” explains Dr. study author Rodica Damian, who is a professor of psychology at the University of Houston.

Furthermore, Lead study author Brent Roberts wanted to actually look at the impact birth order could have on personality traits as older studies suggest. He did notice that, perhaps, first borns might tend to be more extroverted and conscientious, but he also says that this difference is so small it really does not matter.

Part of the study is to determine if, for example, certain drug treatments might work on middle children better than eldest children.

“In some cases, if a drug saves 10 out of 10,000 lives, for example, small effects can be profound,” Roberts did note. “But in terms of personality traits and how you rate them, a 0.02 correlation doesn’t get you anything of note. You are not going to be able to see it with the naked eye. You’re not going to be able to sit two people down next to each other and see the differences between them. It’s not noticeable by anybody.”

“The message of this study is that birth order probably should not influence your parenting, because it’s not meaningfully related to your kid’s personality or IQ,” Damon goes on to say.