Middle Child Syndrome

He describes it as, “knowledge that is tested by practice within a community” (Conquergood 377). The accomplishment behind the performance of being a middle child is that middle children are, as stated above, seen as the invisible glue. They value love and acceptance and try to convey this message of community. Although the role of being a middle child is thrusted upon them and don’t know the reaction or the end result of this performance, majority of the time it works out in their favor, as they become more community oriented yet, independent. They help create this community and use their skills as a younger, yet older sibling to help look at things from different perspectives. Being a middle child, not only helps the individual grow as an independent individual but, also helps those within the community grow. They show the meaning of togetherness to help promote community. They do this through their low self-esteem days, where they joined different communities to find a sense of belonging, this include extracurricular at school. These different activities helped them create their definition of what community meant. The discourse being sent across is the idea of self-growth through performance that is predetermined based on birth order. Although, there are stereotypes for each birth order, the middle child is the one most talked about and is seen as the most extreme. The idea of “middle child syndrome” is just like every other pseudo syndrome that is transferred through knowing, and has been carried through different cultures. This goes to show that although it seems like it is a bad thing the end results usually turn out to be for the

Parents’ own birth orders and children experience can impact family dynamics, such as, firstborn parents getting into “raging battle” with a firstborn child, youngest-born parents not having high expectations on their kids or seeing their children’s abilities, biases based on their own birth positions, sticking up for the children with the same birth order, and birth order affecting the children’s personalities.

According to Alfred Adler, the birth order of the children in a family will largely affect how they age and the personalities which they will form. First borns enter the family as the only child. They revel in the love and full attention from their parents, that is, until the second baby comes along. Suddenly, first borns are dethroned and lose the undivided attention they are used to receiving. As a result, they tend to develop a strong sense of responsibility and protectiveness over their siblings at an early age, which often leads to them becoming authoritative adults. Moreover, when there are multiple children in the family, parents will set high

During middle childhood there are many different changes in a child’s life and this is an important time for children to start gaining confidence. Every child is vulnerable and has his or her strengths whether they are a regular child, gifted or a child with special needs. Abnormality is normal and what makes us who we

First, an article by the Huffington Post mentions that the youngest child is the “life of the party”. Parents are already confident in raising a child that when the youngest is born, parents are more likely to be more lenient and not pay as much attention to you compared to your older sibling. Research also says that the youngest has more freedom, and is not necessarily expected to do anything (Gross, 2013). What actually occurred in this family is exactly what research says. Laney has always been the outspoken one within the family, and when growing up she always got what she wanted. Over the years, she shows the personality of a youngest child with relying on parents, and letting her sister have more control. Thirdly, what was hypothesized

Siblings influence development in a variety of ways by providing teaching and caregiving opportunities that result in greater cognitive, language, and psychosocial development in both older and younger siblings (Jenkins, 1989). Specifically, sibling relationships that depict a balance of nurturance and conflict have been found to provide children with learning opportunities that lead to greater perspective taking skills, different strategies to resolve conflict, as well as regulate their own emotions (Volling, McElwain, & Miller, 2002). For example, younger siblings have been found to be more socially skilled and have more positive peer relationships compared to children who lack the sibling experience (Volling et al., 2002).

The oldest child plays an inimitable role in the structure of her family. She has a propensity to be confident and often craves her independence at an early age. She sets the standard for her younger siblings and realizes that her actions are observed closely by impressionable eyes. This accountability often instills in her a drive to act in a respectable and responsible manner. As the oldest child in a family of eight, I have been persistent in regarding these characteristics and have enabled them to shape my identity.

Being the youngest child of a family cannot be easy with the constant comparison to the older siblings. Not only are firstborn siblings known for being smarter than other siblings that come along but they get a physical advantage also. Studies have shown a lot about how birth order affects the oldest and youngest sibling, but as for the middle child, they have seemed to puzzle researchers. Some researchers seem to believe the order of birth is almost as important as genetics. Researchers also go as far to say that no two children have the same set of parents due to the way parents are different with each child.

I definitely agree with Dr. Mulloway’s findings. I had no clue that the order of birth could affect each child's personality. I definitely believe in younger child always being the spoiled one. And plus there is a big space in age difference between us and my younger sister she is 8 I'm 23 and my brother is 20. My brother was always the spoiled one being that he was younger than me but after our little sister came she became the spoiled one. We all shared different personalities. I was always the one that kept to myself. While my brother and sister are very outspoken. I remember when my sister was younger she would always follow me around wanting to be like me. I do believe the middle child sometimes feels rejected at times because there have

Rosenberg and Oh (2014) state that first born children’s oppositional behavior was frequent three weeks after the birth of a new sibling, and that children deliberately engaged in naughty, demanding, and noncompliant behavior that caused considerable stress for the mothers. Older siblings can become lost and stressed to find their place with the birth of someone new introduced to the family. This reaction by siblings is further exacerbated by the mother’s and infant’s needs being in high demand as

Being the third children always had an impact on how I felt growing up. My older brother was smart and naturally received a lot of attention since he was the first child. My sister has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which constantly requires a lot of attention from my parents. As I got older, I had to find a way to differentiate myself. Besides my schoolwork, the only way that I could stand out was to play a sport. Being able to play the sport nicknamed “The Game of Failure” changed my perception on how to react to life. No matter how many times I failed, I kept going.

Birth order is defined as the order children are born within a family. The order is separated into different categories including first-born, middle child, youngest child, and/or only child. The pattern sticks to a tri-level repetitive cycle. If there are more than three children within a family, then the pattern starts over from first-born, middle child, and then again to the youngest. The research all started with Alfred Adler. He began his research by looking at the order children were born in, and how it affected their personalities and development. Today, research has looked at many more factors than just personality and child development. Other characteristics that may be affected by

The relationship that a child shares with a parent compares to no other. The child is a creation of both the mother and the father, therefore, exhibiting both characteristics and behaviors that the parents illustrate, that the child could then possibly imitate. During the middle childhood years, it is to some extent similar to the preschool years. This timeframe is well known as the “calm after the preschool years, before the storms of adolescence hit.” (Holden, p. 262) This is the point where the child shifts from being in the house to a variety of social environments that affects the child’s developmental stage. “Research has shown that the development of child behavior problems in middle childhood is influenced by different aspects of the family environment, including maternal psychosocial functioning and the quality of child attachment to parent” (DeKlyen and Greenberg 2008).

Since the dawn of civilization, families have had traditions that carry on to our society. One of these is the fact that the firstborn son is the most powerful of all his siblings. Nowadays, this idea has all but vanished from our society and only lives on for the sake of tradition. This concept, even if it is virtually nonexistent, causes change in people based on their age in relation to their siblings. The fact that the oldest male descendant was the most powerful creates a few ripple effects that still hang around today. Most obviously is the fact that the oldest sibling takes responsibility for the others. At a young age, this may translate to bossing people around. This, in turn, gives them a sense of law. They are the boss, and the others

In the early stages of a child’s character development, the family is the first social group that the child has. The relationship that is fostered between the family and the child is important, because it is the role of the family that influences the child’s behavior. Although the child may be influenced by the father and siblings, these relationships are looked to second. The child realizes early that the family belongs to him. This leads to jealousy towards other siblings because he may strive to be significant, and establish a position of superiority. Once the child comes to trust the family, it no longer feels threatened. By fostering a good relationship with the family, the child develops trust which leads to the child developing