Laney On The Youngest Child

Whitbourne explains the stereotypes surrounding sibling roles, such as the first-born is most likely to take on the leadership position, and tend to “stick to rules and order, and strive toward achievement

She was a healthy baby girl who seemed to look alright, no birth defects and no missing limbs. Louise and Tom continued to worry about Lynn even though she appeared healthy. Lynn laughed, smiled and cooed just like a normal baby. However, as Lynn grew they noticed she wasn’t responding to loud noises. An example was when Lynn was at the 4th of July fireworks. As the fire engines drove past and the fireworks went off Lynn acted like it did not phase her. She started to hit her head off the crib and rolling her eyes. Her parents took her to the doctor and after a lot of testing Louise and Tom found out the Lynn had a serve hearing impairment. It was not a definite diagnosis but they had to run more test when she gets older because it is more accurate. Many struggles came about with having a deaf child such as, her not being able to explain her emotions, what she wanted, and could not hear to learn rules and what is right from wrong. Lynn could mouth many words but there was never any

The children in a family don't always have the same features and personality; there are many differences between siblings. One child could be loud, full of themselves,

First born children who later have younger siblings may have it the worst. These children are given excessive attention and pampering by their parents until that fateful day when the little brother or sister arrives. Suddenly they are no longer the center of attention and fall into the shadows wondering why everything changed. They are left feeling inferior, questioning their importance in the family, and trying desperately to gain back the attention they suddenly lost. The first born child can become “problem children, neurotics, criminals, drunkards, and perverts” (Cloninger, 2008). However, on the flip side, the first born usually are the peacemakers of the family even though they are a pampered and spoiled child.

I was the youngest sibling in the family. But, don’t be fooled, somehow I have managed to meet and fail majority of the stereotypes resembling the youngest child. I have always been described as a natural leader, risk taker, and social butterfly.

Younger children are used to getting what they want as children and grow up knowing the ability to charm and manipulate others to their advantage. They also generally less uptight and more carefree since the family rules are usually loosened by the time of their arrival. Parents are already confident in their role as caregiver, and therefore are more lenient (Gross, 2014). They excuse behaviour that was deemed unacceptable for the older children since the parents have already dealt with such situations in the past and are not as stern with younger children. However, younger children may feel neglected by their older siblings and may feel inadequate in comparison to the older siblings’ achievements. Youngest children can also be bullied by older siblings. Furthermore, since parents are less restrictive over younger children, they may be misguided and more reckless than their older siblings who may have had to play it safe. These children can then grow up to be irresponsible and lack direction and the ability to prioritize in their lives. This can lead to mental confusion, emotional instability and depressive symptoms. It may result in a dependence on harmful addictive substances to turn to as an outlet. Likewise, younger siblings are also more prone to addiction, according to Medical Daily, and take up smoking and drinking more frequently than older siblings

I am the oldest child in my family. My sister Kylie was born after me. When she was born, I didn’t like it that much. I liked having a new member in the family, but more work was put on me. It was my first sign of getting older. Along with having more work, I was blamed on for everything. If she made a mess with my toys, it was my mess. Now that she is older she no longer makes messes for me to clean up.

I am a middle child. I am not the assertive, naturally confident first-born, nor am I an attention-seeking youngest child; I am the quiet, quintessential middle child. For the first 16 years of my life, I was always an afterthought to the craziness of my two sisters, and I loved it‒ it made me independent and self-reliant. I have always been very comfortable being the easy-going child, happily accepting anything that comes my way. Never have I felt that my parents loved me any less; they merely had to worry less about me than they did my siblings, with their stubbornness and constant desire for affirmation. I easily slid under the radar, preferring to mind my own business and handle problems on my own. There was never anything wrong with my

Each child has his or her own personality. Typically the firstborn is a natural leader, while the last is always the baby, but what about the overlooked middle child? The middle child can sometimes feel lost in the crowd when it comes to family dynamics. They crave their parent’s attention and are willing to do anything to believe they have it, but immediately close up when it comes to conflict, they become people pleasers. They will do anything to make their parents, or others, happy. This makes the middle child a skilled peacemaker and negotiator (Varma, 2013). They are amazing listeners because of the fact they hate conflict,

The oldest child plays an inimitable role in the structure of her family. She has a propensity to be confident and often craves her independence at an early age. She sets the standard for her younger siblings and realizes that her actions are observed closely by impressionable eyes. This accountability often instills in her a drive to act in a respectable and responsible manner. As the oldest child in a family of eight, I have been persistent in regarding these characteristics and have enabled them to shape my identity.

Being the oldest child can be challenging, but very rewarding. Especially being a first generation university student in a household of 2 or more children. I am the oldest child, meaning all of the responsibility was placed on me. I was expected to have the best grades, outstanding manners as well as keep a smile on my face every time one of my 3 little siblings break a vase at a family friend’s house. I was the child who would have to watch over the children while my parents were at work, serve them lunch while my parents were out buying groceries, take them to football and basketball practices while my parents were preparing dinner at home. I was the third parent, and that has always been on me since before I could speak. I grew up feeling

Sibling rivalry is not the only issue that was triggered by birth order, child’s personality and his or her intelligence is also involved. Some researchers say that first-borns are smarter because they are pressured to set-up the boundary for the younger siblings. They are more enthusiastic in their education for them to be role models of their other siblings. As for the younger ones, life may be or may not be easy, depending on how they will view it. They may view it positively by keeping in mind that since their older sibling get through it, they also can. Otherwise,

Even though youngest siblings always try to do what they can to not be compared to their siblings, being the youngest does not always have perks. We do not get as much attention like our older siblings do and we sometimes do not feel the same love the parents give to their first-born.

A 2003 study showed that when people were asked about what they believed about middle children, the participants said that middle children were the most envious, least bold, and least talkative of all siblings. Participants believed that middle children to be prone to bad behavior. In fact these stereotypes are not true. In reality first born children are the mostly to act out. The reason for this is that for some point of time they were the only child. They grew accustomed to receive all the parental attention. When they become the oldest child they have a hard time adjusting to that and in the end act out. Middle children in fact tend to be the most social of all siblings. Since middle children do not feel the family bond with their parents, they search out friends who become like their family. Middle children have the best social skills of all children. Middle children relate well to older and younger people. They tend to be the most successful of all siblings in team sports, primarily because of their social skills. Middle children do not resent their older and younger siblings. They actually are quite close and rely on each other for

Jill and Bob have 3 daughters. Natalie (the oldest), Serena (the middle child) and Blair (the youngest). Jill and Bob have found that their daughters have very distinct personalities and have talked to their neighbors about it that have 3 boys. The neighbors 3 boys also have the same personalities in relation to the order in which they were born. Natalie has always had tons of attention and glory but with this she has always felt very pressured. Natalie is very responsible, confident, reliable and more motivated to achieve. Serena always felt inadequate. She is rebellious, secretive, vulnerable, creative and opinionated. She often does not get recognition from her parents so she finds acceptance from outside the home which gives her a big social circle. Blair is an attention seeker. She is a little self-centered and will do anything to the attention on her. She is very outgoing, funny, persuasive and likable. Jill and Bob and the neighbors figured out that the order in which their children were born had the same personality traits, they understood how big of an influence birth order is. (Meridian Educational, 1997)