Question

I would like to make the top element (wether it be a p, img, hx or whatever) flush with the top of the parent element while keeping it’s normal separation between it’s siblings.

For instance, I have a div full of p elements. Each p element has a top and bottom margin, say 10px. Each p element is separated by 20px (10 from the one above and 10 from the one below). The side effect of this is that the first p is pushed down by 10px and the bottom p is pushed up by 10px.

Answer 1

The simplest approach is to use a sibling selector:

p + p {
    margin-bottom: 10px;
    margin-top: 10px;
}

This rule applies to paragraphs only if they come directly after another paragraph. So, this rule doesn’t apply to your first paragraph, as it doesn’t follow a paragraph.

If you want space between every paragraph, but not before the first and not after the last, use this:

p + p {
    margin-top: 20px;
}