octavus: birth order trait.

Picture is unrelated to the entry. It's a couple of hipsters. You like? They might be siblings, who knows?

Let's start this entry with some copy-pasted words from les madames' blog.

• the eldest child: more responsible, mature, often a perfectionist, a good leader, higher IQ, low self-esteem.  
• the middle child (any child born in between the eldest and the youngest): not an over achiever, creative, artistically inclined, often felt neglected, lack of direction.
• the youngest child: often get away with anything, not independent, often not taken seriously.

Well, if studies done by psychologists reveals the results stated above, then there must be some degree of truth to it. I'm not going to argue with them because they're supposed to be the 'experts'.

But speaking as the eldest child of three siblings, I must say that the traits shown above are a little bit inaccurate.

More responsible? I don't think so. Firstborns aren't 'more responsible' than any other child. They just have more responsibilities thrust upon them than say, the youngest child of the family. Naturally, it trains them to handle responsibilities earlier than the others. To be responsible is a trait that can be learned, not a given gift.

But I do agree that firstborns are generally good leaders and have a low self-esteem. This is because they are hard-wired to lead and protect their younger siblings and show them the ways of the world. This is especially true for first sons having younger sisters. As the female of the species needs to be protected and be taught how to face up to the challenges of the world. 

(I'm prone to be showing of  a bit of chauvinism every now and then.  So all of you feminists need to stop reading now. This blog is not a place to be 'politically correct'.)

As the first child, not all of your demands are met. For example, when you want mommy to buy you that new Transformers toy, she might say that you're too old for toys, even when you're only eight years old, but at the same time she buys your younger sister that Barbie doll she wanted as a spur-of-the-moment thought when she saw it in the shopping mall. The world's not fair, trust me, I know.

But being the first child has it's perks. In most cases, you're the one who gets new clothes when your family shops for clothes while the younger siblings have to wait until you outgrew the clothes and gets them as hand-me-downs. Take THAT, lil' ones! *smug expression on face*

But that's all in the past. You won't expect mommy and daddy to buy you things now, do you? Get your revenge, firstborns, buy your own toys and clothes and whatever you desire with your own money. Ahahahah.

In conclusion, I found from personal experience that the traits shown above are inaccurate on a few points, but got most of them right. I can't say anything about the other two categories, seeing that I'm not a middle or last child. But I do think that the youngest ones tend to be more savvier and adventurous, with older siblings to lead the way.

image credits: http://totalobscurity.com/wp-content/images/hipsters.jpg