Birth Order

These middle kids might look sad, but they were really just goofing around.    I’m not sure WHAT they were doing when I was taking this picture.  They likely hatched some kind of crazy plan together in secret.  It’s a frequent occurrence.   They are always conspiring about one thing or another.

In truth, they aren’t particularly sad or discontent with the the fact that they are the middle siblings either.  More than a month ago now, when we were neighborhood camping, somehow the grown ups got started talking about birth order in families and whether we liked being the oldest/youngest/middle kid in our own family.   We started polling all the kids and grown ups, and asked each person whether they would choose to be the youngest, oldest or middle kid in their family.    Even though middle kids are supposedly the kids who feel neglected and glossed over, the middle kids and adults were by far the most content with where they were in their family.  Hardly anyone who was a middle kid wanted to be the oldest or youngest.

The youngest members of sibling groups were the most discontent group.  Interestingly, most of them wanted to be a middle kid.  Only a couple of youngest siblings (adult and kid) elected to stay the baby of the family.

The first born siblings for the most part also would not change from their leadership position, even though they expressed frustration about being the family guinea pigs.  Adult oldest siblings frequently mentioned that they liked being in charge, setting the bar high, and being given extra responsibility.  They acknowledged that their driven personalities fit the role well.  Only a couple first born siblings wanted to change their birth order, and most of them said they would choose to be the middle kid.

We did not poll any only children.  Only one person said they wished they could be an only child in their family.

I found it all very fascinating.