Does Birth Order Affect the Way You Are?
Bob likes to be the center of attention. Joe feels that he has authority. Julia tries to outdo everyone and Jimmy just wants to be bigger than the others. What do these all have to do with Birth Order? These all deal with the children’s characteristics depending upon when they were born. Birth Order is the cause of each person’s personality and individual characteristics.
Using "Bob" as an example, he enjoys being the center of attention. He is obviously an only child. "As an only child, one will develop those characteristics from always having to cope with playing alone and with having to fend off adult intrusion" (Stein 1). Children that are the only child, found from research, seem to have the "Leave me alone, I’d rather do it myself" attitude (Isaacson 1). This would definitely have a thing or two to do with how this child would act and go throughout life. "This child will usually stay on the path" (Isaacson 1). With the few characteristics shown, one can tell that because of being an only child, this person will end up going through life looking at things in a different way than those that grow up with siblings.
Likewise, a child that was the only child, but then has a younger sibling brought into the family will also have different characteristics. "Once the second child is born, there is a feeling of abandonment to the first born child" ( Isaacson 3). "The first born child will show a demanding behavior" (Isaacson 3). "They may even show off just because they want to get the attention that they have lost" (Isaacson 3). Once the second child comes along, the first born child feels that they have the power (Isaacson 2). "This child will usually pursue many different goals quickly" (Isaacson 3). Further on in life this child will more than likely have a different attitude toward life than a child born second or third. "First borns, grow up knowing they are bigger, stronger, and smarter than their younger siblings" ( Cowly 68). In the long run, they will continue to act in this manner and be successful in their own way.
Along comes the second or middle child, which is assumed to get all of the attention. "Yet, the attention toward the second born is lost as the first born aggressively takes it away" (Isaacson...
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...attributed in part to their belonging to a unique social group based on their order of birth in the family" (Kasschau 21). A lot of studies were done and it was found that in most cases, when there were no intrusions on how the family was raised, birth order had an effect on people’s personalities (Leman 33). Just think about it. If one was the oldest, they would feel far more superior than the other siblings (Isaacson 2). On the other hand, if one was the youngest, or the baby of the family, they would get spoiled and wish to be older than the others (Isaacson 4). The middle child usually feels stuck, as if they do not get their way in any situation (Isaacson 3). All of these would affect how a person grows up.
Each individuals personality and characteristics are determined by their birth order. When "Bob," the only child grows older, his attitude and personality upon things will be different than "Joe’s," who is the first born child. Same goes for the second born, third born, and so on. All of these children will grow up with different parenting, caused by when they were born. They will be unlike each other since they were born in that specific order.
Being the middle child can be very difficult. Molly is going to learn that she is loved, wanted and can do many fun interesting things that her brothers might not be able to do. Her self-esteem will grow as she grows and the bond between herself and brothers will grow. Adler’s theory gives us much insight into birth order of children and adults and helps in developing the treatments that are needed to help them grow as individuals.
The achievers, the gamblers and visionaries, and the undefined, this is how Jeffery Kluger describes the oldest, youngest, and middle child in his article “The Power of Birth Order” (409). The birth order is a phenomenon, studied by many scientists, that has been impacting the way siblings think and act for years. The birth order classifies the oldest child, who is the achiever; the middle child, who is a hybrid of the oldest and youngest; and last but not least, the youngest child, who is the adventurer of the family. The fact that the birth order affects the personalities of siblings is becoming more and more evident and the classifications of the firstborn, middle child, and youngest child have been proved to be very accurate.
According to Adler the first born child is usually a caring, nurturing individual because he/she most likely grew up helping his/her parents care for their younger siblings. For this same reason, first borns are more likely to be well organized and more responsible than their younger siblings. Sense there are no other children around when their parents give birth to them, first borns are used to receiving their undivided attention and affection prior to their siblings arrival, and if their parents did not prepare them for the arrival of a new brother or sister it can have a negative effect on the first born, mak...
There are other factors that impact each sibling such as physical circumstances that include income of the parents and the residents of their community. Emotional stability plays a large part in the development of each person, examples include well adjusted parents, parental experiences and the career of the parents. For instance, what decade and country you were born in and the economy of that country also plays an important role. All of these factors can determine what type of person that child will become. In a large part, birth order and gender determine how other people in your family react and treat you. It also determines your self-image and how you react and treat others inside and outside of your family.
First born children often possess personality traits such as being conscientious, very organized, and goal oriented which causes them to be very successful in life. Often times, the first born child is extremely driven with perfectionistic tendencies which enable them to achieve their life goals and expectations. To illustrate this point, we need to look no further than the following statistic. Sixty-four percent of the United States presidents have been first borns or functional first borns, which is a term based on how many years there are between them and their next closest sibling in age. This statistic about first born presidents compares to only five presidents who were the babies of their families. Most presidents display the majority of the characteristics described previously as well as being natural born leaders, scholarly, and critical. There are many other areas and careers where first borns have been more successful than their younger siblings. Some examples include Lee Iacocca who was a CEO, Mia Farrow who is an actress, and Cal Ripken who is a Hall of Fame baseball player.
The study of birth order began over a century ago with Sir Francis Galton. A nineteenth century British anthropologist, geographer and statistician--- who believed that human species was ultimately improvable. In his research, he concluded that first born and only born children become well known scientists (Kluger, 2011). His findings resulted from the the fact that the nation still followed Primogeniture, when the first born son inherits the family’s fortunes. In today’s society, several families still put most, or all of, their first born son on a pedestal compared to their other children. Shortly after Galton’s discovery, Alfred Alder and Frank Sulloway came along and decided to take a deeper look into the relationship between a child’s birth order and their personality.
For those of you who are only children you often have to deal with the presumption that you are spoiled and self centered, this is shown to be true in many cases, but remember every birth order group has its share of annoying traits. On the good side only children tend to be very confident, have a good eye for detail, and are v...
Many factors can shape a persons a personality, it could be their environment, peers, family, siblings, but one wouldn’t think that their birth order can too. The last factor will be the one topic I will be getting into more depth in this essay. Either being born first or last it will have a huge impact on your personality (Parents magazine 2006). The first to introduce the theory of the impact birth order has on personality was psychologist Alfred Adler in the early 20th century. This started a new interest in many on this research (Lesley Ogden 2013). His theory suggest the common personality traits each first, middle, and last borns have. Let me start off with the first born of the family and work my way down. The first born is the child the family “practices” on you could say. First time parents have no experience on parenting, and they want to try their best on raising a good child which causes them to be stricter. This causes them to put more pressure on the first borns to do better at everything they do. Which can make them become perfectionists and high achievers. But they want to be noticed and praised by their parents when they do well. This too however develops them to become leaders, especially if they have siblings their parents want them to set an example for (Brooks 1984). Independence, reliability, and respect for authority are other traits that this group may has. They are highly intelligent and get high qualifications in school. They can also be serious and very mature for their age. Because of this nature, this group tends to get along really well with their elders. The pressure of carrying responsibilities (and at times even being forced upon) at an early age can bring negative factors. For the reason that it c...
Numerous studies have shown correlation between birth rate and personality. Birth rate can be defined as the ratio of total live births to that of the total population, in a specific community during a certain period of time. It is usually expressed in numbers of live birth over 1000 population in a year. Birth order is believed to have a lasting effect on psychological development. On the other hand, personality refers to a set of behaviors and mental characteristics possessed by an individual that makes him/her unique, in another words, it’s the distinctive qualities of an individual, and it is made up of the way we think,
For every child born there is a different set of characteristics set for them. First borns tend to be the leaders of the family. They are the ones that turn out to be newscasters or presidents (Neal,1). They are well organized, scholarly, and usually perfectionists (leman,27). Also, parents tend to favor the first born over the others because of their achievements and hardworking attitude (Vowels,1). The first and second child will become complete opposites (Vowles,1) A second child is the trouble maker of the family. They feel less important than the rest of the children (Neal,1). They have strong relationships with their friends because they feel they cannot share things with their family members and are not valued in the family (kelger,). Second children help avoid conflict and keep the family members out of fights (Leman,28). They are expected to live up to the oldest which to have self esteem issues and makes it hard for them to open up to anyone (Kluger). This child has the most varied char...
The oldest child owns strong leadership characteristics. When the oldest child gets younger siblings, they have the chance to become a leader (Renkl, 2). They take care and lead their siblings while the siblings look up to the oldest child. As a result, the oldest child develops leadership skills (Teague, 2). This trait can be beneficial or harmful. Leading their siblings can boost their self-esteem (Renkl, 2). Also, the oldest child likes to be in charge of projects, and they like it when people stick to rules and order (Pressner, Whitbourne, 1). They want to be in charge and in control of what is happening. The oldest child may want people to do something a certain way. When people do not listen, they get upset. They can be bossy and controlling because of their leadership skill (Anders, 2). This can give the oldest child trouble with making friends (Renkl, 2). Some oldest children may feel like everyone relies on them (Birth Order, 5). This attribute may seem bad as a child, but it will serve them well as an adult. The firstborn is most likely to take a leadership position. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush are...
Only children tend to be more egocentric than children who are raised with siblings. This is shown in the scene where Riley is video chatting with her friend, Meg, from Minnesota, and she begins to ask about her hockey team. Meg tells Riley that the hockey team is doing great and that there is even a new girl on the team that she has befriended; the scene cuts to Riley’s emotions freaking out about Meg having a new friend. Riley’s mood instantly changes to anger and she hangs up on her friend, slamming her computer shut (Jiao, Ji, Jing, & Ching 2002). However, even though only children are stereotyped as egocentric, they tend to do well in school and form close bond relationships with their parents. Unlike Riley, 80% of children living in the United States grow up with at least one sibling (BOOK). Siblings create strong bonds with each other; they teach other things like friendship, the act of sharing, and how to resolve conflicts. Siblings are in some ways teachers for each other; older siblings can help with homework or issues with friends. Older siblings can step in, as a parent figure to a younger sibling in times when they are needed to provide emotional support while a parent is unavailable for a short period (CITE Sibling Relations and Their Impact on Children’s Development ) Birth order also has affects on child development; a first born child needs to take charge and figure things out by themselves, where-as a second or third born child can take after their older sibling in a “follow the leader” style. This is important to note for only children too, because it causes them to be more independent due to the fact that they do not have a sibling to follow or learn from. Growing up with three other siblings, I can relate to the statement that people with three or more children are happier, because I could not imagine life with out my siblings. They are friends, teachers, and someone to always lean on. Being the
‘Birth order theory can help explain why children raised in the same family environment with a strong genetic relationship can have such different personalities’ (Drysdale, 2011). The birth order theory says that ‘first-borns are leaders, the drivers and the responsible type. They love to feel in control and feel uncomfortable with surprises or feeling out of their depth. They are conservative in their outlook’ (Grose, 2013). The personality theory says that last-borns are majorly different to first-borns in their characteristics and traits. It states that last-borns are ‘the
In what order children are born in also relates to the size of their family. Someone might be an only child, or have multiple siblings. All that depends on how many children their parents choose to have. Having more children means that money, time, and attention have to be divided between the children (Hartshorne, Joshua). The first born child is likely to receive more attention from their parents, as apposed to a second born, who’s parents are likely to be less attentive the second time around. Kevin Leman said, “Every time a child is born, the entire family environment changes. How parents interact with each child as he or she enters the family circle determines in great part that child’s final destiny.”
I have had the luck of being the oldest of my mothers’ seven children, and the pleasure of having three of my own, and one step-son. I’ve spent a lot of time changing diapers, wiping noses, and kissing ouchies. I’ve carried babies on my hip that I’ve seen off to kindergarten, helped dressed for the first school dance, attended their graduation, and even been there when they have had their first baby. I have spent a lot of time analyzing their behavior, moods, or lack thereof. I’ve concluded that there are 4 types of children, I have been blessed with one of each. The 4 different types are: The Superstar, The Kool Kat, The Lil’ Mama or Little Man (depending on the sex of the child), and The Rebel.