They say that order of the
birth of children creates certain personality traits, while the eldest are
perfectionist, the youngest usually are sociable and outgoing leaving those in
the middle feeling a little forgotten. Read on for a look into the birth order effect
and whether or not there are any truths to middle child syndrome.
The First Born
First borns are known to be perfectionists;
they strive for unrealistic goals, don’t deal well with criticism and are
devastated by failure. First time parents tend to
become by-the-book caregivers who are extremely attentive, stringent with
rules, and overly neurotic about their child. This in turn may cause the above
traits. It has been shown that first borns talk and walk before children
who are born later. They get higher grades in school and have higher leadership
and achievement traits. Naturally first borns are
leaders, they are typically aggressive, but many are also people pleasers.
Studies have shown the children born first tend to pursue traditionally
“intellectual” careers such as medicine, engineering and law. Famous first
borns include: Beyoncé, Barack Obama, John Lennon, Oprah Winfrey Hillary
Clinton and J K Rowling.
The Middle Child (or Second Born)
As each child is born, the disciplinary
rules of the family are relaxed—as well as the expectations and pressure put on
those born later. Middle children are generally free-spirited, independent and sometimes
rebellious. They are guaranteed to be
opposite of their older sibling, they, after all, have to carve out his
or her own distinct identity. They often feel like
their older brother gets all the glory while their younger sister escapes all
discipline. Second borns or middle children are often very sociable and
they become good mediators. They can usually read
people well, they are peacemakers who see all sides of a situation, they are
independent and inventive. Middle children are often the innovators and
creative one’s of the family; If a firstborn is a company's CEO, the middle child
is the entrepreneur. Famous second borns or middle children are: Martin Luther King, Princess Dianna, Madonna, Bill Gates and Jennifer Lopez.
The Last Born
By the time the last child is born, the
parents often let the child's development proceed with more of a hands-off
approach. Frequently the older brothers and sisters involve themselves in the
child-rearing process—which means that the last born gets an abundance of
attention. While lastborns may be charming, they
also have the potential to be manipulative, spoiled or babied to the point of
helplessness.
Babies of the family are
social and outgoing, they are the most financially irresponsible of all birth
orders. They just want to have a good time. Last-born individuals are very good in sales and vocations that
involve high interactions with others. Artistic career interest runs high for
the last-born such as in acting or working as a comedian. They tend to like
public roles where they can gain attention. Famous last borns include: Danny
DeVito, Ellen DeGeneres, Cameron Diaz, Prince Harry and Eddie Murphy.
The Only Child
Only children can carry the
characteristics of both first borns and last borns. As a
result of gaining undivided attention from parents, only children are often
considered to be self-centered. As they never had to learn to share or
overcome conflicts with brothers or sisters, they are often described as
selfish and not easily forgiving of themselves or others. Think of the characteristics of the first born and then magnify them.
They grow up surrounded by adults, and therefore
are more verbal and often more mature. This allows for gains in intelligence
that exceed other birth order differences. Having spent so much time alone,
only childs are resourceful, creative and confident in their independence. More than half the US Presidents, every US
astronaut and most Nobel prize-winners have been either first born or an only
child. Typical professions are law, politics, science and accountancy. Famous
only children are: Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Tiger Woods, Charlize Theron and Leonardo Di Caprio.
Love
Ivy xx
