But what is your relationship with your siblings? And who do you think would have a bigger advantage?
I Must say i like being the middle child of 3 Brothers, since im only 1 year off my older brother we do a lot of the same things, and my young enough that we can do stuff(4 year difference), but he has his own life with all his jail bait friends hehe ~Parisdirt
It's unusual to see a middle child that enjoys being a middle child. Generally the consensus is that they feel ignored and almost forgotten about in the line up.
Even though I'm not the 'Smart' first born, nor the 'Baby' of the family I get my fair amount of attention. It's also b/c of our age difference that keeps us close and not apart, say if the gaps in our ages were more vast. Though I must say your right some what since at times i feel over shadowed by my older brother since he seems to be able to handle a lot more extra activities +college life. But I wouldn't change being the middle child for anything so I guess I'm just that rare one in a dozen or as you said unusual. Hehe ~Parisdirt
I'm an only child... and sometimes, when I feel alone, I've wished to have a sibling (maybe a eldest brother) u.u Anyway, because of my friends' experiences, I think that the best is to be the eldest child. You have the complete attention of your parents when you're young... and you are free when you're major because your parents' attentions go to the youngest child =P Yes, sometimes you have also to take care of your little sibling... but after all I think it's better. To be an only child could seem the best option... and I can assure it's fantastic when you're young... but when you grow... well, having a support from a sibling is the best thing.
Yes, sibling support is pretty handy. My brother had an interview for an accounting firm today, a firm my sister previously worked in. They spent a lot of the night before having a 'mock' interview, with my sister giving out handy tips, and what he was doing right or wrong. So it is handy to have siblings. I suppose if you were an only child, you could get your advice from your parents. But parents aren't always familiar with the next generation's trends and habits, but it would depend on what the situation was. And I gotta say, I annoyed my elder siblings a lot! I did break a few toys in my time, but we're all good now.
But also, when you're the oldest, a LOT is expected of you. Many fall into the perfectionist trap where they end up feeling constantly like they're not living up to what everyone expects of them no matter what they do. You're always then supposed to be the 'most mature, responsible one', the eldest is usually constantly put into almost a second parental role in caring for younger siblings... If you don't do well, you could be seen as "not setting a good example." Just throwing the contrast out there
Does else anyone thinks age difference plays a role in what relationships you have with your siblings? Because you are close in age with your older brother, did sibling rivalry ever affect your relationship? If the age difference is broader, sibling rivalry would be less of a factor. So would you say that in the past you argued more with your older or younger brother? Sounds like you made great friends in your brothers.
Yes, and I think also about the future... when your parents won't be with you. It's sad to think of it, but I have not so many relatives ._." It's true, as all the roles have pros and cons. However I've seen that the eldest is often the most 'pampered/indulged', and his errors are blamed less than the youngest's. The youngest instead, feel the burden of parent's expectations, especially if the eldest had great successes, or at the contrary made many errors in his life. Also the contrary is possible, but anyway mostly is the youngest person to feel weaker. Sure... but I don't have so much experience with this =P
Hmm, well from my experience-- I had 5 older stepbrothers and 3 older stepsisters... and a few of them couldn't stand me because my parents viewed me as the child who didn't make all the 'mistakes' that the older ones had made. So I had to struggle with trying to mend relationships with my siblings over my parents' actions... The older ones often gave me the "oh when I was your age, I would have never been able to do that, or have this, or etc" speech. -shrug-