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Essay on Birth order & its Effects on Adolescent Development
Where a child places in the birth order can have an effect on how he sees himself. Research on birth order, sometimes referred to as ordinal position, shows that first born children are more likely to go to college than children in any other position in the family. Parents should attempt to help each child to see themselves as unique individuals and avoid comparisons with siblings or others.
The middle child often seems to have the most negative impressions of his lot in life. One approach to help middle children reframe things is to point out that in a sense they have the best of both worlds. They are the youngest to the older sibling and the oldest to the younger sibling. Consequently they are both a big brother/sister and a little brother/sister. Younger children always want to be able to do the things older siblings are allowed to do. And older siblings may feel that the younger siblings get away with things they were not able to when they were the same age.
Birth order effects are reliant on circumstances. If the matter is to asked questions that bring to mind thoughts, feelings, and memories linked with the childhood home and family, birth order effects behavior differences between firstborns and laterborns, or between firstborns, lastborns, and middle children are generally found. If the testing conditions do not stir up the family situation, birth order effects are rarely found.
All theories of birth order rest on an unspoken supposition: that the experiences children have at home during upbringing have enduring effects on their individuality and conduct. A number of birth order theorists stress the reality that firstborns and laterborns have unusual relationships with their parents; others point to the sibling relationship itself. In either case, the hypothesis is made that children build up patterns of behavior in interacting with their parents......
