# Sex of Third and Subsequent Kids: A Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516 "2009-07-28T02:29:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Clare\_de\_Loone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/clare_de_loone/32/3407_2.png) [@Clare\_de\_Loone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clare_de_Loone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/21 "2009-07-28T15:11:13Z")
GGG GGB BGGG GGGG BBGG Most people I know are 1 of 2 siblings… ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/22 "2009-07-28T15:12:36Z")
GGGGB (2nd and third G were a set of twins) BBBB ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/23 "2009-07-28T15:26:05Z")
My great grandparents’ children: GGGGB (last two were twins) Brother’s family: GGB People I knew when I was a kid: BBBBBBBB (last 6 were 3 sets of twins) What would interest me is along with this data, what was the social status of the father? But the data is already in: Women that couple with high status men tend to have boys, women that couple with low status men tend to have girls. (In both cases, by about 10%.) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/24 "2009-07-28T15:31:41Z")
GGBB GGGG GGG GGG That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. (Also, I think this sampling procedure is skewed toward same-sex families. The GGGG family is one of my grad school friends and her sisters; I know my friend is the oldest, but I’ve only met her siblings on a few occasions and I don’t know in which order they were born, so if one of them _had_ been a boy I would have had to exclude them. Similarly, both of my grandfathers were from large families that included at least three kids of each sex, but I haven’t the foggiest clue in what order they were born, so I left them off – whereas if one of them had been from a family of seven boys, it would have been easy.) ---
**Author:** ![hende](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/aca169/32.png) [@hende](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hende)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/25 "2009-07-28T17:56:07Z")
Gggg bbb bbbg ggb ggb bbb bgg ggbbbbb gbbgbg bbbg ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/26 "2009-07-28T18:52:48Z")
**ggggbg bgbg bggbgg bgb** ggbg bbbgg bgbbgggbgg bbbbg ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/27 "2009-07-28T19:37:36Z")
Partner: **GGB** (she’s the second girl) BBBB BBB GGB BBBGBG (not sure of the order of the last two, but do know there’s “one of each” in that subset of offspring) BBG BBGG BBG BBGGG (first boy died before I knew the family) Plus a family of at least four girls and no boys – the father “blamed” his wife, but she pointed out he was the culprit, as she had only X chromosomes to donate. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/28 "2009-07-28T19:48:31Z")
I have 4 kids and they go like this BBGB I am one of 4 kids too, and we go like this GGGG My dad is one of 4 kids and they go like this BBBB ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/29 "2009-07-28T20:21:25Z")
bbg ggg (Damnit, I’m trying to use all caps, but when I hit submit all but the first “B” become lowercase. Never seen that before.) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/30 "2009-07-28T20:32:48Z")
BGB BBG BBBBB I think that’s all I know. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/31 "2009-07-28T20:51:38Z")
Ggggg gbbb gggbb ggg gbg ggbb ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/32 "2009-07-28T20:55:53Z")
BGBB GGBB BGG BGBGBGBBG GBGGBGBB GGBG BBB GGGGG (mom’s family) GGB GBB ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/33 "2009-07-28T23:02:45Z")
Some of these posts look a little like prayers to Dread Cthulhu. _Ia! Ia!_ ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/34 "2009-07-29T00:25:46Z")
**GGG** (Mom’s family) **GGG** (My immediate family–siblings and myself) BBBG Here’s an interesting one–my sister’s 1st hubby and father of her only child, a son: BBBBBBBB Ay yi yi. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/35 "2009-07-29T06:37:50Z")
> [@Ruffian](#): > > Here’s an interesting one–my sister’s 1st hubby and father of her only child, a son: > BBBBBBBB They should meet the family that lived behind us, when I was a kid: GGGGGGG. And some others: GGBGBBBG GBGGB GBG BGBB GGG GGB ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516/36 "2009-07-29T11:15:23Z")
Well, it looks like **BetsQ** came up with better data in the original thread, but since I’m here… Results for third child: Sample size 166 BBB - 31.3% BBG - 18.7% GGG - 28.3% GGB - 21.7% Just for kicks, I also looked at what happened with the fourth child if the first three were the same: Sample size 56 BBBB - 34% BBBG - 18% GGGG - 36% GGGB - 12.5% So, this poll does seem to be showing an effect … unfortunately for the theory, however, BetsQ’s much MUCH bigger data set in the other thread, doesn’t (or at least, it’s very very mild). What **Fretful Porcupine** said is probably true - people are throwing out valid data sets like BBGB or GGB if they can’t remember what order they go in. When I was looking round the web to see if there was any data on this there were people throwing round (unsupported) numbers like “70% chance of another boy if you have two already” … those sort of numbers definitely do seem to be disproved, anyway. (Though maybe statements like that have value in another way - as preventing people from “trying for a boy/girl” too hard) Thanks for playing, guys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-of-third-and-subsequent-kids-a-poll/504516.md?page=1)