Birth Order Characteristics

Birth Order "The one thing you can bet your paycheck on is that the firstborn and second born in any given family are going to be different," (Voo 1). Doctor Leman, a psychologist that has been studying birth order since 1967 has noted this throughout his years of research. Whether first born, middle child, or the youngest in a family, there are going to be certain personality traits that are commonly found in a person depending on the order of their birth. For an example, usually it can be quite difficult to find a comedian that is a first born child (Cowley 17) because usually the youngest is the more of the out going person and not as much of a conscientious and structured person. There are some exceptions, though, like adopted children …show more content…
A couple of exceptions would be a situation with an adopted child, a substantial age gap between children, and an only child. An only child can occasionally be considered the “Super Firstborn” (Voo 16). Being an only child, like anything else, has its pros and cons. Only children have the benefit and the encumbrance and hinderance of getting all the attention and support (Voo 17). Characteristics of an only child tend to be diligent, conscientious, good leaders, mature for their age, and also perfectionists (17). Also, “firstborns from disrupted families and minority groups tend to wind up more like later borns” (Cowley 16). Another exception, would be if a child was adopted. For example, if a child who was six months old was adopted into a family with a three year old, the adopted child would fall under the role of the baby. On the other hand, if an eight year old child was adopted into a family with a ten year old child, the adopted child would still be likely to act like the first born (Voo 24). ‘“You don’t give up being a firstborn,” Says Leman. “You take the birth order with you”’ (24). This is because the age the child is adopted plays a huge role in what set of personality traits the child is likely to possess (25). Also, based on what Leman has studied, if a family were to have a gap between children of five years or more, the birth order structure starts again (Voo 23). If a family was to have a ten year old and a three year old, the three year old would have the characteristics and estimated personality traits of the first born, and so would the ten year