Are you the oldest child? Youngest? An only child? Though birth order characteristics are not set in stone, they can definitely affect the personality and life of you and the other people in your family. When you include birth order characteristics on a family tree, you bring your family history to life in unexpected ways. It can help you understand how you and other family members fit in your family and help explain how they interact with other relatives and friends.

If a family member is an eldest child, for example, they may feel special, as well as responsible for the family’s welfare or for carrying on the family tradition. An eldest child may even feel that they have a call to greatness in life and may, in one way or another, be the family hero or heroine. Some eldest children are perfectionists. Others are over-responsible and may feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. Many doctors, scientists and lawyers are firstborns, while entertainers and artists are often the babies of the families. Most of the time the oldest child’s experience in a family is very different from the youngest.

As we know from life in general, there are exceptions to every rule. You will find oldest children who are totally irresponsible and feel no weight on their shoulders at all. You will find successful doctors, lawyers and scientists who are the babies in their families. There are many factors that influence who a person is, including physical appearance, temperament, talents, gender, intelligence level, as well as the timing of their birth in relation to significant life events in a family, such as deaths of parents or other siblings, moves and changes in financial status and illnesses. Despite these influences, birth order characteristics may still ring true.

First born children can be quiet, shy, loners, and sometimes impatient and uptight. At the same time they can also be ambitious, energetic, logical and enterprising. They are often natural leaders and the movers and shakers in this world. Oldest sons may have feelings of entitlement, though these feelings may be unconscious or unacknowledged. Oldest daughters, on the other hand, may have feelings of ambivalence about responsibility if they were born at a time in history when their feelings of entitlement cannot be acted on or realized because of social customs based on gender.

Would it surprise you to know that more than half of the U.S. Presidents were first born children? And that twenty-one of the 23 first astronauts were first born children? It’s also estimated that two-thirds of all entrepreneurs are first-born children. Some research even shows that the IQs of some first born children are on average 3 points higher than their younger siblings. Of course, younger siblings may entirely disagree with this research. And I can’t help but wonder if a lot of these researchers are first-born children themselves. Some notable first born children are: George Washington, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Maya Angelou, Susan Sarandon and Harrison Ford.

Middle children, on the other hand, tend to be less decisive. It may take longer for them to find a career. Sometimes they purposely make the opposite choices of their first born siblings to prove they’re different. They can be less connected to the family than firstborns or youngest children. They also tend to be peacekeepers. They want the family to stay stable, maybe so they themselves can feel more stable. They also tend to be more mysterious, which may come from the difficulty of being defined. Middle children may literally feel caught in the middle of situations or caught between family members.

Middle children are often laid-back, even-tempered, outgoing, friendly, patient, flexible and diplomatic. Paradoxically, they can also be rebellious and outspoken, if they need to be. They may have to try harder to make their way in the world and make a mark. They may be attention seekers, competitive and independent. Think of all the middle children you’ve known in your life, do any of these characteristics make sense to you? Some notable middle children are: Denzel Washington, Donald Trump, Princess Diana, Madonna and Julia Roberts.

Last born or youngest children tend to be more at ease in the world. It’s as if their parents have finally relaxed in their fears about children and childhood. Or maybe they’re just too tired to care! At any rate, compared to first born children, last born children tend to have an easier time of it. They are often more agreeable and more likeable. They are also less likely to provoke or be involved in conflict. Like middle children, they’re more likely to be the peacemakers in the family. Creative leaps don’t scare them. It’s all been done before. They are willing to take more risks than their siblings. This leads to a tendency to be more adventurous.

Some research shows that the youngest in the family are more likely to be artists or participate in extreme sports. There is also research that shows that last born children are funnier and are more likely to be comedians. Like oldest children, youngest children can sometimes feel a sense of special-ness or entitlement. A list of notable last born or youngest children include: Steve Martin, Diane Sawyer, Angelina Jolie, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Taylor.

A look into birth order characteristics wouldn’t be complete without looking at only children. Only children tend to have a mixture of the traits of the other birth order characteristics. They often have the seriousness and sense of responsibility of the oldest and the feelings of entitlement and special-ness of the youngest. Sometimes they expect undivided attention, not only from their parents but from friends and colleagues as well. As children, they’re more oriented toward adults and often remain very close to their parents their entire lives. They tend to be self-motivated. They may also be comfortable doing solitary things while their friends and acquaintances from bigger families are not. At times, they may have difficultly relating to their friends and spouses, as well as their children, if they have more than one.

Who are the only children in your family? Do any of these characteristics apply? Notable only children include: Tiger Woods, Condelezza Rice, Robin Williams, Natalie Portman and Oprah Winfrey (raised mainly as an only child, though she had step-siblings).

Culture, family, environment and life circumstances can have a profound effect on the kind of person we are. However, the order in which we were born into our families may also offer compelling clues to the type of person we’ve become. When working on a genealogy and family tree, a family historian may be wise to take these characteristics into consideration as a tool to help bring their family tree to vibrant life.

Author Bio: Susan Gabriel, M.Ed, created the Family Time Capsule, a unique multimedia program which provides your parents & other honored elder family members, as well as the family historians and storytellers in your family, a comprehensive & easy way to build their legacy. Visit Your Family Time Capsule

Category: Family Concerns
Keywords: birth order, family tree, family historian, genealogy