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For my professional article and summary, I decided to read an article about the patterns in birth order. It was very interesting reading about this topic because I am the first born and I have one younger sister. A lot of the traits/patterns in birth order actually apply to me and my sister.
The investigation is looking at specific patterns that occur commonly in the order of birth. First born, middle child, youngest, twins, only child, adopted children, and step children. What patterns present themselves in birth order? The first born is almost like an experiment for the parents. They show patterns of wanting to please their parents, perfectionism, reliability, being structured, controlling, and leadership. These traits show up very strongly in almost all first born children. First born children want to be the best at everything they do, not because they are competitive, but they just feel the need to be the best. First born children also show patterns of impressing their elders. The middle child tends to feel left out because they are not the oldest or the youngest. Middle children try to impress their peers and friends instead of their parents and siblings. Some patterns for the middle child are thriving on friendship, being peacemakers, having large friend groups, being rebellious and also wanting to please people. The youngest child in the birth order usually shows patterns of being more free spirited, more laid back, and always believing everything will work out. The youngest child is the baby of the family and tries to get the most attention. Some patterns in the youngest child are fun-loving, manipulative, uncomplicated, self-centered, and outgoing. An only child usually has all of the attention in the family. They show patterns of being mature, perfectionist, diligent, and a leader. Twins often feel like one unit. They show a strong pattern of depending on each other. They also show many similar patterns from the first born child and the last born. If you have a blended family and a kid has to change positions of birth order, for example, oldest to middle, they have a hard time adjusting and will usually keep most of the patterns from their former birth order. When a family adopts a child, the child will keep the patterns from their position in the former family, even if in the new family they change birth order. An example would be there suddenly being two first born children.
One of my questions is does gender make a difference in the patterns in birth order. Would a younger brother still protect an older sister the way a first born boy would? Maybe both of them would then take that role of protective sibling. The author questions if the actions and treatment by parents would change the patterns of birth order? For instance, if a first born child is criticized frequently, would they stop being so confident and feel like a middle child who doesn’t feel they have a place?
There are many strong patterns in birth order. Each role has very different patterns from each other. One pattern that I did not particularly agree with is the only child being a leader. If you research the Presidents of the United States, all Presidents have had a sibling, with zero having no siblings and four having half siblings. In my experience, I find many of these patterns to be true. I am the first born, and I tend to be a perfectionist and I like to please my elders. My little sister who is the youngest is more relaxed, and lets stuff happen without stressing. My neighbors who are twins tend to rely on each other and almost seem like one person. My mom was a middle child and she was a peacemaker when she was young and still is as an adult. I enjoyed reading about patterns in birth order because I could relate to it.
http://www.parents.com/baby/development/social/birth-order-and-personality/