Almost half of Americans want their first child to be a boy, according to a new study.

　　Out of the 2,129 recently married couples surveyed by money-saving website CouponCodes4You, 47 percent said they would prefer to have a son first, and most said it was because boys are 'less hard work'.

　　Only 21 percent of the respondents said they would like to have a daughter as their first child, and 32 percent said they had no preference either way.

　　The study also found that the majority of those who wanted a son first – 63 percent - were men themselves, while males made up just 11 percent of those who preferred a daughter as their first child.

　　While the majority of couples wanted a son first, the reasons behind their gender preferences were varied.

　　Most of the couples who wanted a boy – 45 percent - said they felt that having a son would be 'less hard work' than a daughter.

　　On the other hand, a third said they wanted a boy because older sons are better at looking after their younger siblings.

　　And 19 percent admitted they prioritize having a son because they want him to carry the family name.

　　But even though boys are preferred as the oldest child, couples did not rule out having a girl altogether – 37 percent said they would like to have a daughter second.

　　The study found that while raising a boy is perceived as easier, couples who wanted to have a daughter first see older girls as 'better role models' to their younger siblings.

　　一项新研究发现，近半数美国人希望头一胎生的是男孩。

　　优惠券网站CouponCodes4You调查了2129名新婚夫妇，47%的人表示他们更希望第一胎生的是儿子，大多数持这一观点的人称这是因为男孩“更好养”。

　　只有21%的应答者表示希望头胎生女儿，32%的人表示头胎生男生女都好。

　　研究还发现，那些希望头胎生儿子的人多为男性（63%），而希望头胎生女儿的人只有11%为男性。

　　尽管多数夫妇头胎都想要儿子，背后的理由却各有不同。

　　大多数想生男孩的夫妇（45%）表示他们认为儿子比女儿“好养”。

　　另有三分之一的夫妇则表示他们想要男孩是因为长子能更好地照看年幼的弟妹。

　　19%的夫妇坦言他们更想要儿子是因为想让儿子传宗接代。

　　尽管美国夫妇们更希望头胎生男孩，但他们并不是完全排斥生女儿——37%的人称他们希望第二胎是女孩。

　　研究发现，尽管人们普遍认为养儿子更容易，但那些希望头胎生女儿的夫妇则认为长女会为弟妹树立“更好的榜样”。