Are you a First Born,Second Born,Middle or Only Child?

Question

Do these characteristics describe you?
Im a first born and the description matches me to a tee!
First Borns:
More motivated to acheive, end up in professions such as law and medicine,excel in academics , overprotective..and need approval of parents,Determined, first borns are more serious, fear of failure,perfectionist,trendsetters, pressure to be perfect , more pictures of first born children in photo albums
Second Born
aggressive movers and shakers, assertive, achievement oriented, strong willed, want to outdo everyone and rebel

Middle
good negotiators, very gregarious, lots of friends, mediator, they tend to spend lots of time away from home(with other friends or families) sometimes see themselves as outsider
Last Born
charming, spoiled, outgoing, complicated, doesnt make the best grades , creative and funny, witty..act now..think later, self centered, class clown
Only Child
share character with 1st borns,loner, spoiled, air of expectancy,introverted, selfish

Princess Yum Yum you said your twin was born first and is far more serious could be an inclination to birth order within the set...

but Psychologists agree that twins often exchange dominance throughout their lives, and in that sense may alternate between birth order categories also there is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

For example, a mother may reason, "Oh, Twin A was born first. She is always first to do everything. She was the first to crawl, and she'll be the first to walk also!" She expects her firstborn twin daughter to walk before her sister, and spends more time coaching and encouraging this daughter in this skill. In reaction to her self-fulfilling prophecy, Twin A naturally walks first. As the twins grow up, their parents expect their "firstborn" to look out for her "younger" sister, establishing Twin A in the dominant role in the relationship, and galvanizing her personality traits in the mold of an elder child.

Answer 1

I am an identical twin. My sister and I have two elder brothers. So, where does that put me and my sister? Yes, we were both last born, but one of us was born 15 minutes before the other! Would you expect us both to share the same traits (as in charming, spoiled, outgoing etc)? Trouble is, although identical twins, we have different characteristics and traits. I'm far more outgoing and risk-taking than my sister (who was born 15 minutes before me). My sister is far more serious and responsible. Could 15 minutes make all that difference?

I tend to agree with the general idea - our eldest brother fits the bill, and our second brother fits the bill. My only son also fits the description of an only child.

So, as a generalisation, pretty good. But perhaps needs some rethinking with regard to twins, especially non-identical twins? After all you could have a boy and a girl who have completely different personalities and traits yet were born within a few minutes of each other. I shall watch the answers that come in with interest.

Yes, I'm aware of the thinking behind the first twin to be born being the more dominant whilst in the womb, and that the other twin gets less nutrition. However, I have this sneaky suspicion that we had a last moment switch around just before birth! Re self-fulfilling wishes and our mother's expectations of us, all I can say is that wasn't the case. Mum treated us equally and if she had any expectations about us, we never knew! At school we were always equal with our exam results - there would only ever be a single point between us. Oh, and even on Yahoo! we are virtually identical with our Best Answer percentages!

Anyway, something you need to add to the equasion may be DNA - like, could it be I have more of my father's genes, and my sister has more of her mother's? I can see my mother's characteristics in my sister, whereas I appear to be more like my father (attitude, etc.) When I look at our adult personalities, I can see that we have diverged quite a bit, even though we shared the same nature and nurture. Fascinating stuff!

Answer 2

Dear Aston,

I am a middle child but no these charactistics do not describe me at all.

Could there be a difference depending on the sex of the child? I was the 3rd girl and my mom really wanted boys. She was the oldest of 7 children, only 1 of which was a boy so I don't blame her feelings. She did get her sons but I didn't really get over the hurt I felt until I was an adult and raising children of my own.

Answer 3

First born and yes, I do see a great deal of my personality traits in that description. Very interesting.

Answer 4

First born describes me in some ways, but not all. Second born describes my little brother somewhat. He is now 4 inches taller than me. I don't mess with him anymore!

Answer 5

im first born too... its doesnt describe me a 100% but close... i dont excel in academics and thas about it.

my BF is a second born and your description fits him like a glove! lol.

Answer 6

im the first born and ur description fits me almost perfect! i have a little brother and the description for las born fits him lmost perfect 2 =] haha

Answer 7

Only child and proud! The characteristics for only child fit me like a glove.

Answer 8

haha the traits you listed were right. my brother was born 4 years before me and we have nothing in common, we are like 2 only kids, we both have different relationships with our parents and we never see each other. thanks for the funny info!

Answer 9

Middle child here, and yes, your description fits me personally.

Answer 10

Last born here