In the article “How Your Birth Order Influences Your Life Adjustments”
by Lucille forcer she expresses that depending on the order in which you are
born you tend to play a different role, you and others will have a different
outlook and the order will affect your identity. For the parents and oldest child
generally assume that the oldest will be very responsible and able to do more. The
middle child will feel as though he is capable of doing things on his own but
will also ask older siblings or parents for guidance if needed. Youngest child
will feel as though he isn’t as capable as others. He doesn’t pay much mind to
his incapability because he has many people to rely on. The only child feels if
his parents aren’t around he has no one around for guidance. He rather learn
how to fend for his own. I agree with the author depending on the order in which
you are born you have a different role, attitude, and expectation for yourself
and others.
For example I have a friend who I work with he is the oldest
out of his siblings. He feels as though he has more responsibility than his two
younger siblings. He feels as though he has to help his parents keep them on
track. If they need something he helps supply it if they need help and can’t go
to go to their parents he gives them guidance. He feels that they should never
see him doing bad so they won’t do badly.
I also saw an episode on the Tyra Banks show where she
invited siblings on her talk show to talk about how they feel about their order
in the family, their expectations along with their parents expectations. A girl
on her show was the oldest sibling out of four and she stated that her parents feel
as though she has more responsibility than her other sibling because her
parents feel since she’s the oldest she must set the standards high for her
younger siblings to beat or follow. Her parents wanted her to be a good role model.
They felt that’s she couldn’t be the one to fail in life because then the
younger kids would see that and then they would fail in life also.
Another example is about an article read in vibe magazine
about a girl who lost both her parent to a car accident. She had no one else to
turn to. She was force into foster care and turned down help from distant
family because she felt as though she was able to fend for herself. Whatever
she didn’t know how to do she was going to learn to the best of her ability.
The examples that I have provided has proven the authors
point to be true depending on the order in which you are born can affect the
role you play, attitude and the expectations for yourself and others.
