How does birth order – both our own and our children’s – affect how we relate to our kids? Do stereotypes like the bossy oldest, peacemaking middle and freewheeling youngest hold up, in our experience? What do we remember about our role as oldest (Sarah) and youngest (Meagan) and how does that influence our mothering? We tackle these questions and more in Episode 40 – all about birth order. If you’re fascinated by family dynamics, pop psychology, and the human experience, we think you’ll love this show!
LINKS MENTIONED:
- These playing card holders that help little gamers hide their hand (Amazon)
- Meagan’s sister Kathreen’s appearances on The Home Hour – Fabulous Food From Children’s Literature and Growing Up Theatrical
- Raising Siblings Who Like Each Other (Episode 29 of The Mom Hour)
- Our listeners’ feedback on growing up as a middle child from The Mom Hour Facebook page
- Is Birth Order Destiny? (Psychology Today)
- This series on supporting oldest, middle, and youngest children from Aha! Parenting: Supporting Your Oldest Child, Preventing Middle Child Syndrome, Supporting Your Youngest Child (Dr. Laura Markham)
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Just listened to this podcast and found it so interesting! I’m the oldest of 5 (3 biological, 1 step sibling and 1 half – but all grew up in the same house with my dad and stepmom for much of our childhood). While our personalities (especially the 3 biological) fit our birth order stereotypes pretty much exactly, I actually always like the left out child as the oldest. We were all fairly close in age, apart from my half brother who came as the baby when I was 12. But the middle 3 siblings were closest, being each about a year apart from each other. I felt like they all became sort the focus for my parents, maybe because they were always in the same school at the same time, doing the same thing? They were like a club, and those 3 also held the closest relationships to each other. But as the oldest I just remember always feeling like I was on the back burner. So now, having an oldest daughter and expecting #2, I have already noticed that I’m very sensitive to making sure that she doesn’t feel left out or less of a focus than her younger siblings. Anyway, I enjoyed the podcast and wanted to share my unique perspective on that!