Birth Order Says A Lot About Personalities

We've all heard how only children are stubborn, and that the order that a child is born in their family heavily influences what type of person they become. While some child psychologists disagree about the particular personality traits that your birth order predicts, there is a surprising amount that seems to be true when you look at the research that has been done.


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Did you have a bossy older sister or brother? A goofy younger sibling? You may have experienced the outcome of your family's birth order.

Humans have attempted to characterize how birth order affects who someone eventually becomes, and everyone seems to have their own idea about those traits.

But what does birth order truly predict?

Surprisingly, researchers have argued whether there is any association at all between the order a child is born and predictable personality traits.

While the research has been somewhat inconclusive to date, there have been a few traits that seem to be correlated with your birth position in your family.

Some experts believe that only children tend to be more mature. They are always surrounded by adults after all!

Human behavior expert Dr. Gail Gross told Huffington Post that these 'lone wolf' children have a tendency to be strongly independent. 

Only children have no other children to play with at home, an environment that may foster a strong sense of independence and resourcefulness. 

Some also believe that this well-developed sense of independence can lead to problems cooperating with other children in social settings. That's definitely one we've all heard before, right?

Firstborns seem to be the most driven to achieve.

Sound familiar?

Many believe that simply due to the fact that parents spend so much one-on-one time with their firstborn, these children eventually go on to become "over-responsible."

My older sister always told me that, until I came around, she was always number one in their eyes. She thinks this is the reason she always, even after I came around, needed to be the best kid. Not my fault, sis!

These firstborns may demonstrate some "bossy" qualities when the siblings start rolling in.

Think about it. Up until the point, a tiny baby comes into the home, no other children were around to order the firstborn around. For them, it seems like it is their way or the highway. Remember, though, this isn't the older sibling's fault!

Dr. Gail Gross highlights that second borns tend to be cooperative and flexible.

They had to deal with those bossy firstborns from day one and, perhaps, had to work harder to get what they wanted. 

For this reason, Dr. Gross says that middle children tend to be really concerned with rules. 

Makes a lot of sense!

The crazy young one.

As the youngest child, you may have fewer rules placed on you because your parents are way less concerned about random safety issues than they were with their first. 

As a result, you may be a little more free-spirited.

Some believe that this leads the youngest child to charm and entertain more than the older siblings who may have gotten their attention from parents at typical developmental milestones.

It's amazing that the young ones tend to turn out more lighthearted and goofy considering what they have to deal with...

At the end of the day, all of these unique personalities mix together to create one incredible family!

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