I hear the same birth order stories over and over. The super-responsible oldest child. The middle children who feel ignored and unfairly treated. And then the people like me, the babies of the family who never manage to outgrow being "the little one."
Every position has its blessing and its curse, I imagine.
The blessing of the baby? Being the center of attention. Thinking that everyone should always love you and approve of you just for being.
The curse? Feeling like everyone is always watching your every move. Self-importance, and the inevitable depression that follows when you realize that maybe you aren't All That.
Where are you in the birth order?
I'm the eldest of two children. I'm also nine years older than my brother, which means that I combine the narcissism of an only child with the stodginess of the older brother. Oh yeah, I'm hot stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm the oldest, with one brother five years younger. Much like pallinode, I think I'm all that on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteonlyonlyonly
ReplyDeleteSigh. Oldest. Responsible. Serious.
ReplyDeleteOldest with the next one 5 years younger
ReplyDeleteI'm the older of two, but I'm not sure that has really made much of a difference in my later life.
ReplyDeleteI'm the youngest of two, but a super-dysfunctional family has left me appearing to be either an oldest or an only on most birth-order inventories I've done. It used to sort of creep me out but now it cracks me up.
ReplyDeleteI was the youngest for ten years and then became a middle child. I guess I'm just confused. Or still trying to figure out what it means to be 'the mistake'. Heh. I prefer love child.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the middle, but since we're all 8 years apart I kinda felt like only sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI dunno.
I'm the middle child, with a brother 14 months older, and a sister 22 months younger. Middle children learn to get along with others. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm an only so I combine the heightened feelings of responsibility with an assurance that everyone is watching me fail to shoulder those responsibilities and yet no one is helping me so I'm being very sorely mistreated.
ReplyDeleteOnly children; we really DO have everything.
I'm the youngest, and my brother is 6 years older, which always made me feel like an only because he and I (still) have nothing in common. Much of the care of our elderly mother falls to me since he lives a little further away. I don't feel much like the center of attention, and really don't want to be. I do, however, feel like much of the time my mother and her friends still think I'm 16, despite the fact that I've proved myself 100 times over. My brother is often still consulted on the big decisions. Being the baby isn't all it's cracked up to be at times.
ReplyDeleteI'm the baby and the only at the same time. I've got two older sisters (16 and 18 years older than me) by my Mom, but I'm my Dad's only child.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm less with the blessing and more with the curse, well said.
I'm the youngest. But I was never the favorite because they were hoping for a boy :O) My immediate older sister is only 2 years older than me so we were sort of raised like twins. She doesn't have any middle child issues but our older sister does. The very oldest in the family was a boy, our poor brother. I always felt sorry for him having 3 little sisters. He always got the short end of the stick but he now has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to getting along with women :O)
ReplyDeleteI'm the first of two and was always the black sheep because of it. My sister got away with so much crap because I tried it and got caught for it first ;)
ReplyDeleteI was an only child, I got it all, lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm a only, with a half-brother I have met twice and two step-siblings. Confusing, no?
ReplyDeleteMine is confusing to. I have a stepsister who I did not grow up living with but did grow up visiting, who is 8 years older, then I have a half-brother who I did grow up living with who is 6 years younger. So, depending on how you look at it, I'm the eldest, the youngest, an only child, or a middle child!
ReplyDeleteIn reality, I'm more like the responsible serious eldest than anything else, I think.
I am the youngest of 2. My brother is 5 years older than me. But I am the super responsible, super responsible and sadly I feel left out and ignored and second best to my brother. Poor me (g).
ReplyDeleteI have five kids and I worry constantly about thier birth order. I think I spoil my middle child because I don't want him to have middle child syndrome. My dh is a middle child and couldn't be happier that he was mostly ignored. He didn't feel the pressure his sibs did.
I'm the baby. Seems like everybody has gotten married or engaged or something - on my birthday because I'm so special. But on the other hand - I'm not quite grown up to all of them either. Hmmm.
ReplyDeletei'm the baby, but i'm the one who is the most responsible as well. but then again, i learned what NOT to do by watching my big sister get herself into a heap of trouble.
ReplyDeleteOldest of three girls with five years between me and my middle sis.
ReplyDeleteSo for five glorious years I got to be an only then reality hit.
I'm the typical anal, OCD, hyper responsible, mothering oldest child.
ReplyDeleteForgotten Middle... oh the issues! But fear not, counseling/therapy/shrinks (whatever you're comfortable with) are a miracle workers.
ReplyDeleteI am the oldest,but no one has ever called me "super-responsible"
ReplyDeleteNot even close.
Angel Apologist.
SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE
ReplyDeleteWas just told by the oldest, I was always the favorite.
Was just told by the baby - I was always spoiled the most.
It's all perception of the day.
I say - my parents don't even know who I am - I moved 1500 miles away and they only noticed because I took their grandbabies too!
[what nerve I have]
I'm the oldest and I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders.
ReplyDeleteOlder sister to a younger brother. Generally, I've behaved as the responsible older sibling.
ReplyDeleteKyle's the one who blows the birth order stereotype (except for that self-importance part, heh). He's the youngest of three boys and is the only one who actually has his act together.
ONLY! Which is like an oldest child on steroids.
ReplyDelete