Does Birth Order Influence Your Personality?

Mar 05, 2018

Everything about who we are can be traced back to our childhoods. The place where we fall in our families has a great deal of influence on our personalities as adults. Some, like youngest children, naturally get the most attention while others, like only children, can be a little lonely. Where do you fall in your family?
 

The eldest child in the family has the benefit of receiving his or her parents’ undivided attention. Eldest children are confident and self-assured as a result of receiving so much praise from their parents. Praise helps children develop a strong sense of self.

If people have high expectations of you, you’re more likely to work to fulfill them and succeed on your own.

Being the eldest child isn’t always a great situation, however. While eldest children do receive the lion’s share of their parents’ attention, that spotlight can burn sometimes. Eldest children find that they are more highly criticized for the same mistakes their younger siblings make. “You should have known better!” is something eldest children hear all too frequently.

It’s proven that eldest children are more successful in business and politics. Many US Presidents, like Barack Obama, were the oldest children in their families. Other famous oldest children include Hillary Clinton, J.K. Rowling, Kate Middleton, Oprah Winfrey, and Rihanna.

Middle children often want to be the opposite of their older sibling. If the older sibling is a relaxed and laid-back person, the middle child may be focused and aggressive.

This is a natural development because middle children want to be seen as more than junior versions of their older siblings.

Since they are always being compared to their older siblings, middle children have a well-developed sense of fairness and diplomacy. They are good at resolving disputes and can easily put themselves in others’ shoes.

Being put in the middle all the time means that they don’t get as much attention as either the eldest or youngest child. This makes the middle child more independent and able to enjoy his or her own company. Since middle children are good at making their own way in the world, they are practical and understand how to make things work. They are good negotiators and often very successful in their careers.

Famous middle children include Kim Kardashian, Martin Luther King, Princess Diana, and Bill Gates.

The youngest child benefits from the parents’ greater level of experience. Since the oldest and middle children have already broken all the rules at least once, the parents gradually realize it’s not such a big deal and give youngest children the most freedom. Oldest and middle children get very angry when parents let the youngest child’s mistakes slide. The youngest child has their parents to look up to, but sometimes, the older children’s influence on them is stronger.

When competing for the older children’s and the parents’ attention and love, the youngest child learns to be the ”squeaky wheel that gets the grease.” The youngest child is used to the idea that you might not get what you want without putting up a fuss about it.

The youngest child is funny, relaxed, and carefree, knowing that other people will always be around to clean up after them.

Famous youngest children include Eddie Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres, Prince Harry, Steve Carell, and Cameron Diaz.

Much like the oldest child, the only child receives all the benefit of the parents’ undivided attention. The difference is that no younger sibling comes to take the spotlight. Their motivation to succeed, like with oldest children, is the lavish praise from their parents. They have to learn to make their own fun, and they are happiest on their own.

One drawback of being an only child as opposed to an oldest child is that the only child spends most of his or her time with adults. This can be great for their school performance, but might put them at a disadvantage when dealing with other kids. They may be responsible “mini adults” at a young age or they may never grow into their responsibilities, having always been babied by their parents.

The only child soaks up positive attention and praise, but he or she also gets all the parents’ negative attention.

They have to work harder to fulfill the super high expectations placed on them. This may make them doubt themselves and their abilities. 

Famous only children include Daniel Radcliffe, Al Pacino, Samuel L. Jackson, and Frank Sinatra.

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