What Being An Oldest, Middle, Or Youngest Child Says About You

Birth order isn’t the end all, be all when it comes to who you are as a person and how you interact with the world — but it certainly is a factor. There’s no shortage of research showing that being an oldest, middle, or youngest child has an impact on your personality.

In honor of National Sibling Day, we broke down the biggest ways your birth order seems to be associated with who you are as a person. Read on, and be sure to tell us in the comments how true the research seems to be for you.

The Firstborn

Being the oldest child in the family means going through a lot of firsts — and quite possibly failures — before future siblings come along.

First step. First word. First time-out.

The oldest children are often put through experimentation or test phases, when parents are still trying to figure out the goals they have for their children. While oldest children may have had a more strict — or at least watchful — upbringing, it also means they received a lot of attention because they had their parents all to themselves, Khadijah B. Watkins, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, tells Yahoo Health.

As a result, firstborns command more attention and approval from peers and colleagues and are more in tune with their surroundings.

Many world leaders are firstborn kids who are typically more driven and motivated, Watkins says. They are also extremely competitive, confident, organized, and strive for greatness. 

A Norwegian study found that firstborns had a slightly higher IQ than middle or younger siblings, supporting the fact that they want to excel at everything they do, from landing a successful job to simply planning a vacation.  Source: Ashley Macha