Way back about a month ago, I may have admitted that one reason I have this site is because I'm a youngest child and need attention. I was surprised at how many of you said you are also youngest children. And all of you said you need attention. What a bunch of prima donnas we all are.
So are youngest children drawn together somehow? Because our birth order contributes to all of us having similar personalities? Maybe. Although personally, I never got spoiled the way the baby is supposed to be. I was cheated out of my birthright by my parents, who refused to buy me a convertible for my sixteenth birthday. Or whatever spoiled children are supposed to get. I KNOW. It's a tragedy. ( Youngest children are also very dramatic.)
Birth order is kind of fascinating. I sort of go back on forth on its real impact on a person's attitudes and behavior, though. I think it does account for some personality traits. Or maybe accentuates what is already there. Or maybe it's just a load of crap.
Thoughts?
I'm an only child. I find that I'm fairly independent, but I don't share well with others sometimes. What are ya gonna do?
ReplyDeleteI'm the youngest, and I have a theatre degree, a blog, and an online photo site. LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI was a painfully shy kid who was always overshadowed by my older sister. I wasn't spoiled in any way...in fact, my sister had much more power over my parents as the first-born. Hm.
I'm the youngest of five (yes, I'm a twin, but I'm younger, damn it). I wasn't spoiled at all. I didn't get more attention than anyone else. Maybe it was due to circumstances, or maybe not, I don't know. But my brother, who is the oldest, and I would have to trade places if we want to go by the whole birth order thing. He's totally needy, manipulates his way into everything, gets what he wants, and so on. I'm pretty much the opposite of him. So I don't buy into that at all.
ReplyDeleteAs the youngest I wasn't spoiled, per se, but in comparison to my siblings I was like friggin' Queen Sheba. That's really only because my parents weren't desperately poor by the time I came around though. My husband's an only child though, and my god is he independent. I'm always looking for reassurance and asking questions, but him? Oh no, he's got it all by himself. It's a very odd relationship that not many people understand to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI think birth order has some effects on a person but it depends on the family. I'm the oldest but am the flightly undecided one in our family. My sister who is the youngest on the other hand is driven and an over achiever more like a typical oldest child. So what I'm saying is that I really have don't know, shocking!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a crapshoot.
ReplyDeleteJust like good kids come from bad parents, and bad kids from good parents, we have bratty oldests, clingly onlys and independent babies.
Who knows.
Youngest. I wasn't spoiled as a child but I would very much like to be spoiled now.
ReplyDeleteI'm the oldest. And while I try to be bossy no one listens to me. My sister, the middle child, is now the favorite child and my brother, the baby, can do no wrong. I had the early curfew, hundreds of rules and those two got away with murder. Bitter party of one?
ReplyDeleteI'm the oldest of 3 and need ALL of the attention. I'm a pain and I know it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe because the youngest was THE ONLY BOY in our whole wide family and so I had to act extra annoying so people would pay attention to the old gal with the bizarre friends and curfew breaking, but yes.
I'm a middle child but also need attention. That's why every comment I get on my blog is a tiny piece of attention.
ReplyDeleteBirth order is a really strange thing. In my household, you can really see it. I, the eldest child, left to care for my 7-years-younger sibling while my parent's ran a business can cook, organize, and problem solve with the best of them. The afor mentioned sibling can't navigate his way out of a paper bag of a bad situation and I'm still (he's 16 now) buying gifts on his behalf, not only for my parents and grandparents but also for his GIRLFRIENDS.
ReplyDeleteWith that having been said, tSCM's family has three children, all five years apart and it's funny because their oldest son is old enough to be my father and their middle child has children older than my baby brother.... Anyway, When it comes to the roles that they play - the middle child, rather than trying to keep everyone happy and together, is more apt to be the impetus for an argument rather than it's mediator...and the oldest child is most likely to storm out the way the self-consumed youngest would...
All in all, I've come to think that it's more about how parent's bring kids up than anything else. Mine forced me into a role where I was "the oldest," whereas tSCM's family was more geared toward handling things for all of their kids, and they all seemed to really grow up separately, despite how close in age they were....well, are. (I have tense issues :P)