Birth Order of Siblings

Birth Order of Siblings

Birth order is an interesting phenomenon. Ever considered why and how certain characteristics and traits are developed? Birth order is an interesting study. Basically, there are three categories one can fall in—oldest, middle, and youngest within a family.

Let’s look at the oldest in a family or sometimes called the firstborn. Many times, the firstborn paves the way for the ones to follow. Firstborns have the distinction of doing everything fist in their families. Parents can focus all their attention on their firstborn. Firstborns probably feel pretty special with their status. Firstborn’s achievements are major with parents and very celebrated. Firstborns are photographed often and quite little superstars. Firstborns spend a lot of time with adults and mature quickly and may become an overachiever. Firstborns can be confident in their abilities. At the same time, firstborns may feel pressure when other siblings come along. Often, firstborns are expected to set a good example. Firstborns learn responsibility as a result of helping out with younger siblings. Firstborns usually can be counted on. Watch out, firstborns can be bossy! Experiencing most things first helps firstborns to good decision makers. 

Now, let’s take a look at the middle child in a family which can be several children. Being in the middle is a unique position. Middles don’t have the full weight of being the oldest, yet are too old to have all the benefit of being the youngest. It’s not hard to be overlooked as a middle child—they just go along and get along! Middles do all the firsts that the oldest does but remember, it’s all been done before.  Middles can feel left out. Parents are happy and celebrate Middles’ accomplishments but, maybe with a little less glee this time around. There are photographs of Middles too but not as many. Middles may get older siblings’ hand-me-downs so what is special about that. Trying to find a unique place might be a challenge. When it comes to making compromises in the family, it seems to all fall on the Middle child to be the flexible one.  After all, Middles are not the oldest or youngest but just in the middle sometimes referred to as the lost place, not really fitting in anywhere. Just in the middle and no one understands. On the other hand, Middles are probably really good at sharing and taking turns. Middles learn patience being the middle child because Middles are expected to cooperate. Many, but not all, middle children have quiet personalities. Middles have often been called the peacemaker.

So now we move on to the youngest in a family often referred to as the baby of the family. Boy, babies learn to work that title! Babies get away with a lot. Older siblings think the baby is really spoiled and gets away with everything. Sometimes, the baby does things that get blamed on older siblings because the baby is younger than them and this becomes an excuse to overlook things. Babies can get people to do things for them so sometimes they come to expect it and want to be taken care of. Responsibility is a challenge for the baby. With all the protection that is in place, babies don’t develop a sense of who they are so making their own decisions is more challenging. On the other hand, babies do know how to share. The baby might be a bit of a tattletale making so perhaps not the greatest person to confide in or to keep a secret. Babies tend to like drama and create a fair share. Sometimes, there’s a rebel inside the baby. And, babies do know how to manipulate—they’ve been getting their way for a long time so are pretty good. However, babies know how to turn on the charm and are usually well liked by others. Babies can also be a lot of fun to be around.

Post by JT  --  Comments Welcomed.
Qualifier: (Birth Order characteristics are common traits but do not always apply to every child)

Works Cited

Griffin, Lynne R.N., M.Ed. “Field Guide to Familes—Nuturing strong relationships
          —one issue At a time.” Psychology Today. 18 Oct. 2012. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.

Gross, Gail Ph.D., Ed.D. “The Achiever, the Peacemaker and the Life of the Party:
          How Birth Order Affects Personality.” The Huffington Post. 23 Dec. 2013.
          Web. 2 Oct. 2014.

Hartshorne, Joshua K. “How Birth Order Affects Your Personality.” Scientific
          American. 8 Jan. 2009. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.

Palmer, Steve. “Does Birth Order Determine Personality?” Parent Further Blog. Web.
         2 Oct. 2014.

Walcutt, Diana L. Ph.D. “Birth Order and Personality.” Psych Central. Web. 2 Oct. 2014