Manic Monday

From Manic Monday

1. Where are you in birth order in your family- first, last, middle, only?

Last, but then again I only have one sibling, a brother and he is five years older than me.

2. Do you think that has any affect upon your personality?

Most definitively, I think it has a strong influence. The first born gets all the attention until their younger siblings come along. With a five year difference between my brother and me, I have learned to fend for myself. I was always picked on by my older brother who ruled the roost until I came along. I am quite and reserved, but if I feel I got the short end of the stick, I speak up (As you all know from reading my Blog.). I pick my battles and don’t go off trying to tilt windmills (Well maybe, my brother thinks so but I don't think I do.).

3. Do you buy into the stereotypes of birth order?

Yes, I can see it in my brother’s family. The oldest, she is a type A personality, the next oldest he is the mediator. The third oldest, he is the musician of the family; carefree, easy going, had everything done for him by his older siblings. And the youngest who is ten years younger than his older brother and almost twenty years younger than his sister is a blend, he had all the attention of a first born, but was picked on by his older siblings.

Just for fun, you can read about birth-order bias - research on birth order stereotypes in Psychology Today here.