Birth Order and Personality

Does Birth Order really effect a child's personality or is that just a myth?

Hi Mandi. I'm not an expert. I'm a parent of 5 and come from a sibling group of 6. So I can share my opinion. My experience is that birth order effects children for sure. But that's not just because of a number, but rather, because of the circumstances that surely exist. For example, almost all oldest-children that I know well have a strong sense of responsibility and a desire to protect others. I'm a middle child and have a tendency to retreat, be a peacemaker, and a people-pleaser. So does our middle child. I think that when we, as parents, are aware of the stereotypical feelings and actions of our children according to birth order, we can then focus on erasing the difficulties and praising the virtues that are sort of automatic. And then, of course, we focus on their individual personalities - their likes, their desires, and their needs. I'd love to read more responses about this!

With related or relations to Adoption it is more of a ' Hierarchy of Power ' .Rather than Childs' Personality Based Factor.Do you have a specific circumstance or question . That you are pondering??

Your question made me wonder about the psychological definition of "personality." Psychologists (and textbook writers) Jess and Gregory Feist describe it this way . . . "Although no single definition is acceptable to all personality theorists, we can say that personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person's behavior." Most parents will tell you that their children come ready-made in a lot of ways. A lot of their traits are something they're just born with. On the other hand, some of the ways that they interact with the world are a result of their environment. I think of kids as being kind of like trees . . . you plant a seed and you're going to get a certain kind of tree, depending on the seed. However, the tree may grow taller or bushier or be stunted or twisted, have strong or weak root systems, have thick or thin branches, etc . . . depending on its environment. Birth order is definitely a part of the environment, so it's going to have some influence on how your child behaves and interacts with the world and perceives him/herself, but I believe that birth order won't change your child's fundamental identity.