The Advantages and Disadvantages of Being the First Born Child

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The advantages and disadvantages of being the first born child During this past week we have been talking about the influence of the birth order in a child’s personality and consequently in his/her adult life. This influence comes not only from the child’s order of birth itself, but from attitudes that the families assume towards each child in terms of his/her birth order. While the youngest children are more protected and in most cases, less independent, and the middle children are more confident and proactive, the oldest children are the ones that become more independent and responsible, at the same time they might become more serious and feel they’ll be held accountable for anything that goes wrong. Parents usually have a lot of expectations for the first born child, so they’ll provide everything they can to support him/her. The family also expects the older children to be more capable and responsible than the younger children, so they come to think of themselves that way too. Once the younger siblings are born, the oldest son or daughter learns that he/she will have to start taking care of himself/herself, and they become more independent and begin to go after what they need. Not long after that, they assume the older sibling role, helping to take care of the young ones and taking on responsibilities around the house. They are usually the most mature kids and the most committed to the family. On the other hand, the older children become more serious, and often find themselves depressed or stressed because of all the responsibilities they take on. They get so used to taking care of others and solving problems that they hardly ever ask for help, what might bring a lot of pressure to their lives. People always come to them for help, but the first born children might not have someone to turn to in a moment of need. They also become frustrated more easily when they

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