Oldest child, middle child, youngest child or baby of the family, you can be assured whatever “order” in which you were born, you’ve heard lots of stereotypes applied to you for that very reason. Is there a correlation between your personality traits and the order in which you were born? Is the youngest always the most spoiled? Is the oldest always the most responsible and loyal? There are certainly some experts that see a pattern in our birth order and how it can shape who we are. Each of us, no matter what order in which we were born, have our own personality, quirks, gifts, strengths, and challenges. It’s an interesting topic to investigate. Read ahead and see if you see some of yourself in the birth order investigation.
A lot of expectation and importance is always placed on the first born child. Whether male or female, it takes a strong person to “break in” your parents as they try and figure out their roles and responsibilities as Mom and Dad. It’s overwhelming and quite eye opening to become a parent for the first time. One thing is certain: parents aren’t perfect and they will most assuredly make mistakes. Since so many eyes and expectations fall on the first born, let’s take a look at the personality traits and strengths often assigned to the first child to enter the family.
Firstborns do have so many great personality traits, but do face struggles and challenges, just like everyone else. Some typical first born challenges can be:
The middle child, the one who usually gets the most flack in the birth order chain, is another interesting look into the influence of birth order. Research has a lot to say about the personality traits and strengths of the middle child:
Those who find themselves the middle child also have challenges and struggles. Some of those include:
The youngest, the baby, the spoiled one, the favorite, however you refer to the youngest or are classified in your role as the youngest, there are some advantages to being the baby, or last of the kids! Some strengths and personality strengths of being the youngest are:
The youngest do have fun but they also face challenges, some of which can be:
We’ve covered birth order in families where there are multiple siblings, but we’ve yet to cover a family dynamic with interesting characteristics of its own: the only child. Statistics show that from 1976 until 2015 the number of families with only one child doubled, from 11 to 22%. New data coming out from the Census shows that one child families are the fastest growing type of family here in the United States. Those that are an only child have strong personality traits and strengths, some of which are:
As well as only children are at finding their successes, being the only child does have it’s challenges and drawbacks. Some of those are:
Family
No matter where you fall in birth order: first, last, middle, or only child, you are unique, the only one of “you” around and important in your own right. You might have agreed with some of these traits, disagreed with others, or happy to point out the traits of your siblings as you read the article. It is interesting to see some of the parts that create, weave and build us as people and as families. Embracing our differences and similarities, is what makes us one big happy (most of the time) family. So tell your family you appreciate them today!
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Sources:
https://www.parents.com/baby/development/social/birth-order-and-personality/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-birth-order-affect-personality/
https://www.truity.com/blog/birth-order-and-personality-study
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