Does Birth Order Affect the Way You Are? Essay examples -- essays rese

Does Birth Order Affect the Way You Are? Bob likes to be the center of attention. Joe feels that he has authority. Julia tries to outdo everyone and Jimmy just wants to be bigger than the others. What do these all have to do with Birth Order? These all deal with the children’s characteristics depending upon when they were born. Birth Order is the cause of each person’s personality and individual characteristics. Using "Bob" as an example, he enjoys being the center of attention. He is obviously an only child. "As an only child, one will develop those characteristics from always having to cope with playing alone and with having to fend off adult intrusion" (Stein 1). Children that are the only child, found from research, seem to have the "Leave me alone, I’d rather do it myself" attitude (Isaacson 1). This would definitely have a thing or two to do with how this child would act and go throughout life. "This child will usually stay on the path" (Isaacson 1). With the few characteristics shown, one can tell that because of being an only child, this person will end up going through life looking at things in a different way than those that grow up with siblings. Likewise, a child that was the only child, but then has a younger sibling brought into the family will also have different characteristics. "Once the second child is born, there is a feeling of abandonment to the first born child" ( Isaacson 3). "The first born child will show a demanding behavior" (Isaacson 3). "They may even show off just because they want to get the attention that they have lost" (Isaacson 3). Once the second child comes along, the first born child feels that they have the power (Isaacson 2). "This child will usually pursue many different goals quickly" (Isaacson 3). Further on in life this child will more than likely have a different attitude toward life than a child born second or third. "First borns, grow up knowing they are bigger, stronger, and smarter than their younger siblings" ( Cowly 68). In the long run, they will continue to act in this manner and be successful in their own way. Along comes the second or middle child, which is assumed to get all of the attention. "Yet, the attention toward the second born is lost as the first born aggressively takes it away" (Isaacson... ...attributed in part to their belonging to a unique social group based on their order of birth in the family" (Kasschau 21). A lot of studies were done and it was found that in most cases, when there were no intrusions on how the family was raised, birth order had an effect on people’s personalities (Leman 33). Just think about it. If one was the oldest, they would feel far more superior than the other siblings (Isaacson 2). On the other hand, if one was the youngest, or the baby of the family, they would get spoiled and wish to be older than the others (Isaacson 4). The middle child usually feels stuck, as if they do not get their way in any situation (Isaacson 3). All of these would affect how a person grows up. Each individuals personality and characteristics are determined by their birth order. When "Bob," the only child grows older, his attitude and personality upon things will be different than "Joe’s," who is the first born child. Same goes for the second born, third born, and so on. All of these children will grow up with different parenting, caused by when they were born. They will be unlike each other since they were born in that specific order.