Birth Order Essay

Birth order refers to the order a child is born in their family. It refers to four basic positions of a child: oldest, middle, youngest, and only child. The dynamics of birth order have long been debated in the scientific community. While some experts are reluctant to assign tried-and-true personality traits to each family position, most agree that birth order factors into the adults we become. Birth order can shape people in ways they do not realize. It can form personalities and behaviors. It is believed that each birth order position has its own unique set of personality traits. Also, even though siblings are generally raised together, differences in birth order position may result in perspectives on life and relationships being quite different …show more content…
A study done by Keller and Zach looked at the differences in behaviors of parents between parents of firstborn children and parents of later born children. This study found that mothers and fathers were alone with their firstborn infants significantly longer than with their later born infants. Fathers of firstborn infants engaged in face to-face interactions with their infants far longer than fathers of later born infants did with their children. Both parents were also present together longer with firstborn infants than with infants born later on (Keller, Heidi and Ulrike Zach). According to another study done by Joseph Price of Brigham Young University first-borns spent more quality time with their parents. Quality time was defined as time spent …show more content…
This occurs when the middle child feels left out and under loved. Second-born children often feel like a fifth wheel compared to their older sibling. (Gibson) “The oldest, or first born, will often receive inflated attention because they are the first to reach certain milestones, such as first birthday, learning to talk, learning to walk, and eventually attending their first day of school, and then their last day of school.” The youngest child receives an abundance of attention as well. This leaves the middle child feeling left out and receiving the least amount of parental attention