It may be stereotypical, but often true: First-borns are leaders, smart, power driven, and high achievers. Middle children are pacifists, independent, cooperative, caring, and tolerant. Youngest children are innovators, usually funny, extremely charming, and highly creative.

On Middle Child’s Day I’m here to tell you why being the middle child is the best:

  1. We may have been overlooked, but that gives us an invisibility advantage. We watched what got the older kids into trouble, and while the younger ones were keeping our parents busy, we were stealthier as we “got away with it.” As the middle child, we know just how far to push in order to receive maximum positive results.
  2. We’re smarter than you think we are. We have to be. In order to survive. While the oldest is spouting statistics and the youngest is being comforted, we’re methodically tracking our parents’ eye movements and gauging the best time to grab a second brownie. The middle child is not only observant, but also action-oriented.
  3. We have powerful negotiation skills. Being stuck between the older child’s boisterous behavior and the younger child’s whining, we learn to negotiate an outcome that everyone will be happy with and, at the same time, edge in exactly what we want to have happen. “Happiness all around!” is the silent toast we live by.
  4. We’re pretty “chill,” so we achieve way more than people expect us to. We achieve because we have less pressure placed on us and more time to figure out our strategies to success. Plus, we’ve learned to trust our instincts, so we take risks that are usually big payoffs. We do apply some logic to our plans, but rely as much on our hearts as we do our heads.
  5. People like us. Usually. What with negotiating on behalf of others and trying to please people, generally everyone loves us. We step up to be the spokesperson when required, but love to melt into our surroundings unnoticed. This gives us opportunity to observe our audience in preparation for interaction.

I know all this not just because I, myself, am a middle child. But my superior middle-child-observation-super-powers have opened my eyes to watch our middle child. He also happens to be the only adopted child in our family. This gives him a mega-advantage. The combination of middle child superiority and adopted child adorableness means that he’s quickly proving to be ranked among the most tender-hearted, brilliant, achievement-oriented, success-driven people that the world has ever known. Proudly, we middle children band together and proclaim:  THE MIDDLE ROCKS!