For those that don't understand my title - it is a reference to The Brady Bunch when Jan Brady was complaining about all the attention her older sister Marsha received. Poor Jan suffered from middle child syndrome. Friday August 12th is National Middle Child Day. Being a middle child I was delighted to learn that middle children are celebrated (sort of since I didn't even know about this day until recently). In celebration of National Middle Child day I thought it would be appropriate to write about the potential impact of birth order on a child's personality.
Each child is born into a different family. Many believe that birth order can shape a child's personality as much as biological factors. However, birth order is only one influence among many on personality and if you are concerned that your child will develop a syndrome like "middle child syndrome" there are things you can do.
According to The Birth Order Book: Why You are the Way You Are by Kevin Leman, first born children tend to be leaders, perfectionists and compliant; only children are often confident, ambitious and scholarly; middle children can be independent, diplomatic, and secretive; and the youngest are more charming, social and engaging. Treating each child as an individual with unique traits and avoiding comparisons can help mitigate the impact of birth order on personality development. Leman suggests accepting only children's/first born's imperfections and adding priveledges to their responsibilties; making middle children feel special with individual attention and respect for their opinions; and giving the youngest responsibilities and encouraging their independence.
So, how has your birth order impacted your personality? How about your child? Take this quiz to find out:
http://www.parents.com/parents/quiz.jsp?quizId=/templatedata/ab/quiz/data/BirthOrderQuiz_03052004.xml
Happy Middle Child Day to all my fellow middle children out there!
Each child is born into a different family. Many believe that birth order can shape a child's personality as much as biological factors. However, birth order is only one influence among many on personality and if you are concerned that your child will develop a syndrome like "middle child syndrome" there are things you can do.
According to The Birth Order Book: Why You are the Way You Are by Kevin Leman, first born children tend to be leaders, perfectionists and compliant; only children are often confident, ambitious and scholarly; middle children can be independent, diplomatic, and secretive; and the youngest are more charming, social and engaging. Treating each child as an individual with unique traits and avoiding comparisons can help mitigate the impact of birth order on personality development. Leman suggests accepting only children's/first born's imperfections and adding priveledges to their responsibilties; making middle children feel special with individual attention and respect for their opinions; and giving the youngest responsibilities and encouraging their independence.
So, how has your birth order impacted your personality? How about your child? Take this quiz to find out:
http://www.parents.com/parents/quiz.jsp?quizId=/templatedata/ab/quiz/data/BirthOrderQuiz_03052004.xml
Happy Middle Child Day to all my fellow middle children out there!
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