I'm the youngest child in a family of 4 children. Has this impacted my grades, my behavior and my attitude at all?
Possibly. There are so many studies out there, some saying the oldest child will receive the most attention overall, the youngest will be the smartest and the only will be the most passive. But after all these tests, who even knows?
The other day in my Honors English class, each student voiced their own opinion about their placement in their family and how they felt about it. In my class, the majority were the youngest, a few were middle and oldest, and 1 was an only child.
It was interesting to see how everyone's personality is reflected in their behavior and attitude. Although this is a generalization, the youngest were the most outspoken. (This could also be because of the ratio)
So does placement in the family determine certain aspects in an individual's life?
Well then, what about the number of children in one's family?
Would step- or half-siblings have the same influence?
Does gender have the same impact?
My parents once asked my siblings and me if we could reorder ourselves and choose to be a certain placement in the family, where we would choose. Surprisingly, although we always fight about who's the most spoiled or the favorite child, we all would rather stay in our same placements.
How about you? How do you feel about your placement in the family? Do you think your personality is reflected by this? If you could change positions, would you?
I like my placement in the family and I wouldn't change it for anything. Although, sometimes I can't help but wonder if I would be a little less bossy if I hadn't have been born first. I think family placement affects us to some degree, but not a whole lot.
I absolutely think there are common atributes based on placement in the family, but I don't think they're stead-fast, and I think there are a variety of possibilities for each position. Personally, I am an only child, and I often get comments from my friends like "you're such an only child," or something. I think it's hard to put down on paper what the unique characteristics are, but it's easy enough to tell where someone is in relationship to their family when you get to know them. There are also a lot of weird cases that fall somewhere in between. Take my cousin for example. She has one brother who is mentally challenged, which left her in some ways an only child, and in some ways not at all.
And despite the rumors of being spoiled and all of the other blissful perks only children get...i hated it.
My mother is way to protective of me, even now (i'm 20). As a kid she was a huge burden on my ability to build friendships. If ever i wanted to go to a sleepover, she wouldve had to have a year long relationship with the parent of my friend, as well as all of the kids' parents that were attending. I understand child safety and realize there are a lot of dangers for kids these days, but that was very crippling.
Today, i am very sociable, but at the end of the day i would rather be left alone. I believe that part of my childhood contributes. Also, everything i've ever done has always been put under a microscope. I have no privacy. It pretty much sucks.
"Prefiero morir parada que vivir la vida en mis rodillas"
I like where I am, as the oldest, but sometimes I feel like my parents are stricter with me than with my younger brother. I feel like I have to prove whatever it is that comes up with the issue, and my brother doesn't have to prove anything because I've already proved it. (Sorry, I realize this makes very little sense, but please bear with me, I have yet to figure out how to express my view more eloquently).
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.