Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Birth Order Over Analyzing

Thinking about mom personality types got me thinking about one of my other favorite personality topics, birth order.  I have oldest child syndrome fooo shooo.  I am not sure if the descriptions fit my two younger sisters exactly, but interesting to think about. 

From the Working Resources Site (http://www.workingresources.com/articles/article.nhtml?uid=10008):

The First Born
While parents of the first newborn are usually responsible and diligent, they are also tentative, anxious and inconsistent—and to make up for this they may be demanding, strict, and overprotective . It has been shown that first borns talk and walk before children who are born later. As first borns grow up, these precocious abilities remain: they are the ones who go on to succeed in the world. They get higher grades in school and have higher leadership and achievement traits. They are conscientious, organized, dependable, accommodating, and persistent. While some first borns have a strong need for approval, so that they grow up pleasing people and taking care of others (often being taken advantage of in the process), other first borns are high achievers, hard driven and ruthless. One common characteristic of many first borns is that they tend to be perfectionists. They strive for unrealistic goals, don't deal well with criticism, are devastated by failure, are frequently pessimistic, and take on so many responsibilities that things can go out of control.

The Middle Child (or Second Born)
As each child is born, the disciplinary rules of the family are relaxed—as well as the expectations and pressure put on those born later . Middle children can have many contradictory characteristics, but one common thread seems to hold true: their personalities are usually the opposite of those of the first borns. If the first born is a loner, the next born will have numerous friends. If the first born is ambitious, the second born may be more laid back. The second born, after all, has to carve out his or her own distinct identity, and the first born has already made a claim on the adult-oriented and ambitious traits. It is common for the middle child to feel squeezed out, with the older and younger children getting more attention—so they turn to the world outside of the family, to their friends. Second borns or middle children are often very sociable and they become good mediators. They learn the art of negotiation and compromise. They are generally free-spirited, independent and sometimes rebellious. Because they don't get as much attention, they learn not to reveal as much about their thoughts and emotions as others do. And since they didn't stand out in the family as much while growing up, they place great value on loyalty—they are the likeliest to remain monogamous in their relationships.

The Last Born
By the time the last child is born, the parents often let the child's development proceed with more of a hands-off approach . Frequently the older brothers and sisters involve themselves in the child-rearing process—which means that the last born gets an abundance of attention and is often the target of jokes. There is some inclination as well to let the last child remain a child—after all, once the last born grows up, the parents have to come to terms with new roles and definitions within their own relationship, a situation they may prefer to avoid. Last children grow up with ambivalence, lauded with attention one minute and joked about the next. They are accused of being spoiled, the ones who get everything the other siblings never had. This results in some impetuous behaviors, a tendency to want things immediately. They can become “clowns,” seeking attention with no real worries about the consequences. The last born child is often described as sociable, charming, loving, and open, but also as temperamental, irresponsible, and self-centered.

What about Only Children?
Only children can carry the characteristics of both first borns and last borns . They are referred to as “lonely onlies” because, while they receive substantial attention from their parents, they frequently find themselves with fewer social skills for dealing with their peers. Because they identify so closely with the values of their parents, they relate better as they grow up with people far older or younger. Think of the characteristics of the first born and then magnify them. Their lives are often highly structured during childhood so they may harbor private resentment about having to grow up as little adults with no real childhood. Only children grow up with a great deal of recognition from their parents and they tend to be responsible, ambitious and perfectionistic, but they also set high standards for themselves and others so that they may be perceived as critical or even controlling.

I took two birth order predictor tests and they both classified me as oldest child.  Do they get your birth order right?

The One Show - Birth Order and Personality Test
Blog Things - Birth Order Predictor

Labels: ,

1 Comments:

At June 11, 2012 at 8:40 PM , Blogger Elena said...

Interesting says the middle child.

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home