Middle child syndrome

4zn76tysfajdxp · 15-12-2011 03:57PM

Hard to tell where I fit tbh. Fourth of five. My younger brother was spoiled rotten though. I'm bitter.

stovelid · 15-12-2011 04:02PM

In my experience, the oldest child typically gets the most attention and time, due to the novelty of being the first-born and the undivided time.

Subsequent children tend to fend more for themselves in terms of parental attention and are less fussed over.

The youngest child probably beneifts emotionally the most from the fact that parents are more experienced at parenting and just older, especially with a big age gap between siblings. There was 10 years between my youngest sister and the next child and my parents were way more chilled with her.

Miss Fluff · 15-12-2011 04:29PM

I'm a middle child and only girl and I definitely wouldn't fall into the peace maker category

stovelid · 15-12-2011 04:33PM

Miss Fluff wrote: »

I'm a middle child and only girl and I definitely wouldn't fall into the peace maker category

You must have other brothers or sisters your ma and da never told you about?

:pac:

DrumSteve · 15-12-2011 04:36PM

I'm the middle child, moved out first, got my drivers licence first, went to college first, won't get out of bed unless I postively have to. So yeah I am pretty independent and I guess would be the peace maker when I go home also.

Karona · 15-12-2011 04:39PM

My brother who is the oldest and also the only boy is the biggest child ever, he's 32 and acts like a 3 year old if he doesn't get his way, my mother dotes on him way too much, he was still living at home until 2 weeks ago so he's not a responsible or independant one.

My sister is the middle child and she is not a peacemaker by any means, doing anything to get the rest of us in trouble. She is very artistic though but she isnt the brightest button in the drawer god love her.

As for me, the youngest I was not spoilt or pampered, more like picked on for being the youngest. But I do like to think that in most ways I am a lot more intelligent than the other two.

stovelid · 15-12-2011 04:39PM

One thing I have noticed is the difference between brothers. I have two boys very close in age and have three different friends that have similar families. In all the cases, the older boy is more sensitive and more gentle while the younger brother is more rough and tumble and boisterous/fearless. In all the cases, the older boys obviously got undivided attention and were only children for between 1-5 years whereas the young lads tended to fend for thelmselves a bit more more and also has a brother to play with.

Only an observation.

Miss Fluff · 15-12-2011 04:42PM

stovelid wrote: »

You must have other brothers or sisters your ma and da never told you about?

:pac:

You're going to have to explain, am not functioning on all cylinders today Stovelid :cool:

stovelid · 15-12-2011 04:45PM

Miss Fluff wrote: »

You're going to have to explain, am not functioning on all cylinders today Stovelid :cool:

OK, well sometimes you have good jokes but more often than not, you have very,very lame ones....

Miss Fluff · 15-12-2011 04:51PM

stovelid wrote: »

OK, well sometimes you have good jokes but more often than not, you have very,very lame ones....

I'll do a little laugh now and we can forget all about it

Shanotheslayer · 15-12-2011 04:56PM

I'm the youngest at 19, and I suppose I was spoiled enough growing up. My sister the middle child wouldn't consider her a peace maker and definitely doesn't do the bare minimum. And my brother the eldest definitely fits the category

Logical Fallacy · 15-12-2011 04:59PM

Oranage2 wrote: »

Well not just middle child but do you fit your birth order stereotype?

First born - more responsible, over achiever

Middle - Peace makers, just do the bare minimum

Youngest - overindulged, pampered and spoiled

Also reports say that intelligence of the first born will be higher than the second child and the second child will be smarter than the youngest.

I'm a middle child and I'd say my older sibling is smarter than me, also my youngest sibling is spoiled.

I'm 3rd of 4 and am smarter than the rest. No offence to them at all, just how it is.

Jesus Wept · 15-12-2011 05:02PM

Oranage2 wrote: »

From what I've seen so far it seems I was right about the younger child thing - they don't like what they're reading so they throw their toys out of the pram.

:rolleyes:

Sykk wrote: »

I'm the youngest in my family. My parents split up at a time when the rest of my siblings had moved out so I was living without either parent at 15. Spoiled rotten, clearly.

Stuff like this simply can not be understated.
Frivolous things like 'mammy let my younger sibbling start going to Discos at a younger age' really count for little or nought.

Events like parental breakup & marriage dissolution are more likely to occur when the the younger siblings are ... well younger and in their formative years.

I think my life could be quite different had I been the first born, I'd go back and make that swap 100% of the time if I could.

Odats · 15-12-2011 05:03PM

I'm the youngest of six and there's a fifteen year gap between me and my sister who is the next youngest.

I would say I was spoiled rotten when I was younger without a doubt. Mammy's little boy.

Got the best Leaving in the family and me and the eldest brother would be the most smartest and we are the image of each other despite 20 year difference. He's Mammy's boy 1.0 as he's the eldest.

The middle sister would be the cute one, competitive and very frugal.

Susie_Q · 15-12-2011 05:17PM

The eldest is known as the pancake child, because the first one never turns out right.

madmammy · 15-12-2011 05:22PM

i'm 4th of 6 so not sure what catagory i'm meant to fit in
i'm artistic and a peace maker....i learnt to blend in growing up

my youngest brother and the 2nd oldest child (my other brother) still get their washing done by my mam and their dinner too.....the boys were definatly spoilt in or house

Oranage2 · 15-12-2011 05:36PM

The-Rigger wrote: »

:rolleyes:

.

youngest child?

It's a light hearted thread and was joking with that comment but the youngest child stereotype is causing a little grief, I guess being called spoilt all their life means that they have to defend themselves.

And the stereotypes for the most part I'd say are untrue since social class, ages, genders and much much more plays a bigger part in somebodies personality.

Jesus Wept · 15-12-2011 05:54PM

Oranage2 wrote: »

youngest child?

It's a light hearted thread and was joking with that comment but the youngest child stereotype is causing a little grief, I guess being called spoilt all their life means that they have to defend themselves.

And the stereotypes for the most part I'd say are untrue since social class, ages, genders and much much more plays a bigger part in somebodies personality.

My rolleyes was a friendly one, obviously with the old rolleyes - it's hard to know, he goes both ways!

Unique User Name · 15-12-2011 06:03PM

Odats wrote: »

me and the eldest brother would be the most smartest QUOTE]

You sure about that? :P

Catari Jaguar · 15-12-2011 06:29PM

I think middle child knows how to behave like the baby and the older responsible one.

AstridBean · 15-12-2011 06:36PM

foxyboxer wrote: »

I'm a middle child. My nickname at home is Kofi Annan.

Heh heh, jokes, I get jokes.

*pretends to understand politics-related quip*

:pac:

cynder · 15-12-2011 06:55PM

Youngest of 3 and not spoiled in any which way, i say the middle child was spoilt as he was my dads first born my moms 2nd (he was my dads golden child for the first 19 years), im the only one with some bit of education (leaving cert)(neither of my 2 brothers have the j.cert let alone a leaving cert.

I'm far more motivated than either of my siblings. but then again ones coming up to 40 the other is coming up to 35. I left home at 16 with a strong independent streak i made my own way and was not in any way spoiled. The middle boy still lives only a few miles from our mother where as i live in a different country. His the spoiled one and im not one bit jealous he needs spoiling, i dont....

Makes me laugh now as when we were growing up everyone used to spoil my brother (the middle child) as they thought the baby (me) and being the only girl got spoiled, THEY WERE ALL WRONG! my brother got to go everywhere with my dad they would travel teh country and go on holidays with my dads parents overseas. I hated it when i was younger always trying to get a look in but the older i got the more independent i got, did me the world of good. I think if i was spoiled i would be a different person now.

WindSock · 16-12-2011 01:26AM

Apparently the youngest is better at negotiating and problem solving as the older siblings present obstacles that the child encounters from getting what it wants. The older ones didn't have to deal with these obstacles themselves, or to a lesser degree.
I am grateful to be the youngest as I learned from my other siblings fu.ck ups on not how to be like them, and also had a wider variety of music to choose from and was socialised in many different groups from an early age. Doesn't mean dick though as I am back living at home

metaoblivia · 16-12-2011 01:53AM

I'm the youngest of two. It's hard to say who's smarter because my brother and I have applied our brains differently. He's very smart, he just likes learning things that have a direct application. He dropped out of school, but went back in his twenties and learned a trade.
Me, on the other hand, I went to uni on scholarship and went on to get my Master's degree.
I'm seen as the more responsible one because I pay off my bills and debts and don't have any children out of wedlock. My brother had some trouble as a young adult with these things, but he's really turned it around. As a parent he's very responsible, but he's still kind of laid back about his debt and credit score.
As for spoiled... definitely me. I'm the youngest, I'm the girl, and I'm cuter. :P My father was really hard on my brother, which I think is probably why my brother was so irresponsible early on. I sort of escaped that, but I also didn't get as much attention until I was older, and my dad realized I could do something other than look cute and play with dolls.

Kanoe · 16-12-2011 02:51AM

middle child ish (5 of 7) probably fall into the lazy peacemaker category, but mostly just lazy.

YouTookMyName · 16-12-2011 03:14AM

Youngest of 5 there's 5 years between me and sister closest to me and 5 years between her and my oldest sister. All if them went to college got good/great points in the leaving cert. There's 10 years between me and the brother and we're not one bit alike.

I wasn't arsed about school or college, and walked into a trade. Too fond of money to be living like a student, was Spoiled rotten but I'm fairly independent for the "baby of the house"

Middle child syndrome

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