Firstborns tend to be reliable, conscientious, structured, cautious, controlling and achievers. Firstborns are diligent and want to be the best at everything they do. In contrast, if the couple has a second child, they might raise the second born with less stringency due to their experiences with the firstborn.
According to Sulloway's theory, firstborns, who are physically superior to their siblings at a young age, are more likely to show dominant behavior and therefore become less agreeable.
“Firstborn children can be goal-oriented, outspoken, stubborn, independent, and perfectionistic,” Smelser says, and when you look at the way firstborns are nurtured, it starts to make sense why. “These traits are often reinforced by parents through their interactions with the child,” she says.
On the negative side, first-borns are the only ones who experience having their parents all to themselves, then having to share them. For this reason, they're thought to be anxious, emotionally intense, defensive and prone to jealous rages.
Determined: Eldest children have higher expectations placed on them from birth due to being their parents' first child. Because they are the only child, they are able to learn through trial and error instead of being told how to do something by an older sibling. This leads to a strong sense of determination.
According to Adler, the first born is more susceptible to depression because of high expectations of parents and suddenly losing the attention due to another sibling being born.
Firstborn children are thrust into a leadership role from the time they gain a younger sibling. That spells decades of at-home leadership experience, which, at times, could be plain bossiness. They like to be in charge. A few firstborns will have trouble delegating; they will not trust others to do the job well enough.
It is natural for young children to experience feelings of jealousy towards their new sibling. This is all perfectly natural, and is their way of expressing their feelings of frustration, and confusion about their role in your life and their place in the family.
The firstborn effect
Firstborns tend to possess psychological characteristics related to leadership, including responsibility, creativity, obedience and dominance. They are also more likely to have higher academic abilities and levels of intelligence than their younger siblings.
Oldest child syndrome refers to a number of characteristics people develop as an outcome of being the first-born. For instance, following the birth of another baby, the firstborn goes from being the “only child” of their parents to having to share their parent's love and attention with a younger sibling.
First borns (fb's) are unique in a family system. They are the only children who have their parents exclusive focus, time and energy. These children have the unobstructed resource of parental attention. However, parent's attention is both on the child and that child's environment.
Eldest daughter syndrome is the burden felt by oldest daughters because they're given too many adult responsibilities in their family before they're ready. Eldest daughter syndrome can make women feel overburdened, stressed out, and constantly responsible for others.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no scientific evidence that suggests all firstborn daughters necessarily resemble their fathers.
A recent study has found that it's not the youngest child that's liked the most. It's actually the eldest! While eldest children around the world have had to be the example for their younger siblings and parents being extra strict on them, it looks like there was a good reason.
First-born kids tend to be leaders, like CEOS and founders, and are more likely to achieve traditional success. Middle-born children often embody a mix of the traits of older and younger siblings, and they're very relationship-focused.
Firstborn children are more selfish and less co-operative than other youngsters, a study has found. It is thought that the arrival of a younger brother or sister has long-lasting impact on the eldest child's personality, leaving them wary of others and their motives.
According to an old notion, first-born children are genetically predisposed to appear more like their father. It was thought that this was done so that the father would accept the child as his and provide for and care for them. Another argument is that this would prevent him from eating the baby.
Sociologists from the University of California performed a study which found the first-born appears to get preferential treatment, and that most parents have a favourite child.
If you're an only child, your best romantic match is an older brother of sisters, according to this website.
According to the study, the best possible match is a firstborn female with a lastborn male, because their needs are in harmony with each other. A firstborn with another firstborn, Leman writes, is likely to be a power struggle.
Based on test results of students from 82 different types of families, researchers concluded that the ideal student is a boy with two younger siblings. His next sibling must be a boy, fewer than two years younger than he is. The third child must be a girl, born no fewer than three years after her older brother.
Researchers have found a correlation between risk-taking and being the last-born sibling.
A growing collection of studies suggests that being the youngest sibling may come along with some major health advantages. Researchers have found that the baby of the family is often slimmer and less prone to illness. As a result, younger siblings can expect to live longer than their older brothers and sisters.
Oldest child syndrome comprises the behavioral changes exhibited by your firstborn after the birth of their younger sibling. They may show dominating tendencies, develop an unhealthy competitive attitude, and become controlling.