y children who come later. Still, this child starts out in the spotlight, they are a parent’s dream for the future. “That means pressure on you to succeed, and first-borns do seem to end up more often in leadership positions” (49).First-borns grow up wanting approval, admiration and respect. They can demand obedience from those who they feel are inferior to them. “What you have to cope with in terms of birth order is the loss of the attention you’ve gotten when the second-born arrives” (50). The middle child is always trying to out-perform the first-born. They constantly feel inadequate. To make up for that, middle children become realistic perfectionists (50-51). “While they are considered the middle child, they have the freedom to go about their business without anybody paying much attention to them. They have an older sibling to rely on, and they are the competent one in relation to those who follow” (52). Middle children are also picked on by the older ones and get into trouble for picking on the younger ones. There will always be older children Biagetti 4who are more capable than the middle sibling, and younger children competing for attention (52-53). “The youngest child arrives into an already complicated family script of who’s getting along with and who is not. How they feel about themselves is very connected to the stability of the parents’ relationship” (53). Younger children need to know that they are appreciated.The challenge is to defend against the middle child, who tries to pass his or her own feelings of inadequacy. The middle child makes fun of the youngest and insists they cannot do anything right (53). “The youngest child cares deeply about the weak and helpless with whom they can identify. They seek non-threatening relationships and use humor to keep an emotional distance from others” (54).Parents often admit having a favorite among t...
