Birth Order: Fact Or Fiction?

If you’re anything like me you puzzle all day long trying to figure out your children. These living, breathing, crying, whining, smiling, melting, wonderful, precious little creatures have been placed in our care and we aim to do the best job we can as their parents. So why not a little bit of science and theory to help make it easier? Why not pigeonhole them into stereotypes to ease our jobs and make sense of it all? Alas, you all know as I do that this is impossible and that categorizing our variable children is the last thing we want (or can) do as parents.

Still, wouldn’t it be nice and helpful? “No, Johnny’s not bossy, he’s just the oldest and a natural born leader.” “Susie’s feeling sad today because she’s a middle child and has identity issues.” lol 🙂

This article outlined a lot of the theory behind birth order and the science of predicting general characteristics of children within a family. Here are a few summarizing tidbits from the article:

Firstborns:

-natural leaders, problem solvers, strong organizational and reasoning skills

-twenty-one of the first twenty-three American astronauts were firstborns

-well represented among Rhodes scholars and university professors
-better at relating to adults than to other kids

Middle children:
– great negotiators and peacemakers, laid-back attitudes and a love of socializing

– natural schmoozers and consensus builders

– most likely to move far from home once they grow up
– prone to rebelliousness and competitiveness

Lastborn:
– least likely to be disciplined

– become adept at wrapping people around their little fingers and clowning to get attention.
– may suffer from other’s assumptions that they are spoiled, stubborn, and manipulative.

Does your family fit the bill? After reading through these descriptions, some are uncannily right on, while others leave me wondering. I guess there’s my proof that NO tool can accurately pin my wonderfully maddening, varied, and beloved children. And I guess that’s a good thing–as my mother-in-law beautifully reminds me, let each be his own and try not to label!

Birth Order: Fact or Fiction?