Friday, April 17, 2009

What it is like to be the oldest of four...and good points about all all positions in the family

As a lot of you guys probably know, I am the older sister of triplets. We are 6 years apart. I had a theory: I think there are good points to every position in the family, whether your the middle child, oldest, youngest, or even an only child. And of course there are bad points too. Check this out:

Oldest Child: The first, a.k.a uno child, a.k.a first born, a.k.a, well you get the picture I suppose.
Traits they usually have: Reliable, most responsible.
Good things about being the oldest: You get everything new (no hand-me downs) you get to do everything first, and your siblings look up to you, and your parents will always love you the longest.
Bad things: You feel major pressure to be the most responsible and your parents treat you like you are supposed to act more mature then your siblings and you have no feelings sometimes, like one day Vivian placed a blanket over her head and couldn't see where she was going and bumped right into me and it hurt like heck (if I do say so myself) and my dad was just like, "Oh she didn't mean it" in a very abrupt fashion and didn't even make her say sorry, like I didn't have feelings.  And I know that if I had done that to her, my dad would have rushed right over and comforted her and given her lots of attention, and have made me say sorry. *barf*

Middle Child: The second of three, a.k.a. the third of five, a.k.a the fourth of seven
Traits: Good peacemaker, etc.
Good things: You are the middle, and the middle of the oreo is the best, the middle of the bolanga sandwich is the best, and you have a mix of people you look up to, and people who look up to you.
Bad things: You tend to get the least attention: *for example, your parents are teaching your big sister to drive and she is getting lots attention because she just got her license, and everyone is gushing over how adorable your month old brother is*

Youngest child: The youngest, a.k.a last born
Traits: rebellious, messy, troublemaker
Good things: You learn from your older siblings mistakes, and you have older siblings to get advice from, and you get out of things a lot, and tend to get the most attention.
Bad things: You get all the hand me downs, do everything last, and teachers might compare you to your siblings.

Only Child: Only born a.k.a One child a.k.a no siblings
Traits: *simular to oldest child*
Good things: You don't have to share attention with your siblings and always get all the attention, never get hand me downs.
Bad things: You might be spoiled, and you might get lonely.

What's your position??

3 comments:

Reinvent Dad said...

Excellent post Bren - Birth order is a very interesting topic.

AmyAnne said...

Hi.
My mom found your blog when she was looking at your dad's blog.
I am also 10 and the oldest of two sisters. One is 5 years old and the other is only 1. I really like your post. Over the summer I hope to also set up a blog. I agree with "The oldest part." Your siblings do look up to you and normally they get most of the attention. But you don't get hand me downs!

P.S. My mom hasn't decided if I can post my name or not, but if you want to you can email me through her blog at parentingwithducttape.com

AmyAnne said...

P.P.S. My daughter is mortified that my profile picture is of me pregnant in a cheerleader costume. She wants me to tell you that it is not her in the picture or in my stomach. LOL.

I'll figure out a way she can comment with her own profile in a bit. School just got out today.

I like your blog too by the way. That's why I sent it to her to read. Great job!!

- AmyAnne