Relax Second, Middle, or Younger Child; the Firstborn Isn’t a Super Kid
Researchers have tossed around birth order and personality, and the results are in, and they may be comforting.
If you have siblings, where in the line do you fall? Too often, beliefs seemingly backed up by scientific research support the status of one child over another because of their positioning in their births.
How many times have we heard that the firstborn is the "golden child" to whom everything is directed and who carries the family's hopes? Some people may perceive the first child as more talented, more mature, and even favored. Research suggests that the second child may have a slight advantage over the first because of the knowledge gained from raising the first child. Where did all this come from and what is the research?
Does where someone stands among their siblings have an effect on their life that lasts? Scientists and regular people alike have been interested in this question for over 100 years. Francis Galton, who was Charles Darwin's half-cousin and the youngest of nine children, observed in 1874 that there was an excessive number of firstborn children in a group of English experts.
Galton thought parents might give their oldest kids extra attention, which helped them do well in school. After fifty years, Alfred Adler, the…
