being, or they will rebel against being compared to the idealized memory of an earlier child. Adopted children tend to be spoiled by the parents in their excitement of having a child. Parents of adopted children have a tendency to feel guilty about the lack of the biological parents in the child's life. To stop their own guilt, they try to compensate for the lack and end up in not only spoiling but also confusing the child. An adopted child also has the tendency to either resent or idealize their unknown biological parents. A male child among all female siblings questions his manhood and tries to overcompensate for this by acting tough and “macho” all of the time. A female among male siblings has many protectors. Her brothers often look out for her and are somewhat protective of her. She will either be very feminine to counteract her male role models, or she will be a tomboy and try to outdo her brothers. More often than not she is closer to the father. It is the same with all girls as it is with all boys. The children are involuntarily put into their own roles by the parents and either agree with their position or protest it. Personally, I tend to be a little of both the last born and the second born. In my family, my oldest brother is nine years older than me and so that throws the system off a little. I do fit the description of the only girl among boys however. I am very much a tomboy and I constantly try to outdo my brothers in all areas. My oldest brother is Justin. He fits into the category of the only child more than that of the first child. He was an only child for seven years and so developed more of those characteristics. My second oldest brother, Luke, is only two years older than I am and because of the spacing between the two of us and Justin, he fits more of the mold of the first born. He has always been the mediator of the family and is more introverted than Justin or myself. Justin is more the authoritarian...
