Cata-List – Birth Order

While many factors affect a child’s development, the majority of research into birth order has shown that one’s birth position can have a significant impact on expectations, behaviour and personality.

First Born

  • First borns have high expectations from parents and learn to play alone without feeling lonely
  • Do not like surprises and thrive on being in control
  • Organized, pressured to perform, achievers, dependable

Middle Child

  • In terms of personality traits, middle children are more difficult to predict. Must cope with older children taking away attention by outperforming them and younger children drawing away attention by being “next”
  • Mental toughness, independence, good negotiators
  • Deliberately try to be different and often look outside family to feel special

Youngest Child

  • Last born children live with older children picking on them, frequent references as ‘the baby’ and more relaxed parenting rules and recognition
  • Often the family clown, adept at people-oriented tasks, love attention, charming, humorous, risk taking, affectionate and uncomplicated
  • Can also be rebellious, critical, temperamental and impatient

Only Child

Only children are little adults by age seven. Similar to first borns: thorough, deliberate, high achiever, self-motivator, often comfortable around notably older or younger people

Twins

Twins often exhibit birth order dominance traits but with no relevance to the order in which they were actually born.

Other Notables

Children born five or more years after an older sibling, and those who are the first of their sex, are more likely to have first-born characteristics. Blended families, sibling deaths, adoptions and illnesses can affect the birth order role.

Sources: Family Services Thunder Bay, Cliff Isaacson – birthorderplus.com, babyzone.com, Dr. Kevin Leman

 

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