How Birth Order Affects Personality

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Birth order affects everything from personality and character traits to future relationships and career choices. The difference in birth order combined with how parents treat their causes the children to grow and develop differently from the siblings they may or may not have (Voo, Jocelyn). Family is the greatest influence on children growing up, and in what order they were born determines how their family treats them (Leman, Kevin). There are many contributing factors that cause children to grow up and become who they are, but birth order is considered to be one of the most crucial (Gross, Dr. Gail). In what order children are born in also relates to the size of their family. Someone might be an only child, or have multiple siblings. All that depends on how many children their parents choose to have. Having more children means that money, time, and attention have to be divided between the children (Hartshorne, Joshua). The first born child is likely to receive more attention from their parents, as apposed to a second born, who’s parents are likely to be less attentive the second time around. Kevin Leman said, “Every time a child is born, the entire family environment changes. How parents interact with each child as he or she enters the family circle determines in great part that child’s final destiny.” Being a first born child means that child is somewhat of an experiment for the parents. It also means they will be the only child to have their parents to themselves without them focusing on another child. The second born is likely to contain many of the same qualities of a first born, if he or she is the opposite gender as the previous (Voo, Jocelyn). Parents are likely to be just as attentive to the first born of that gender, ... ... middle of paper ... ... order in relationships can often lead to more happiness (Leman, Kevin). There are so many deciding factors that go into birth order that must be considered to completely understand why someone is the way that they are. A lot of it goes back to the parents and how they treat their child or children growing up, but in what order you were born in causes the parents to treat the child how they do. Works Cited Gross, Dr. Gail. “The Achiever, the Peacemaker, and the Life of the Party: How Birth Order Affects Personality”. Huffingtonpost. 2014. Web. 30 April 2014. Hartshorne, Joshua K. “How Birth Order Affects Your Personality”. Scientificamerican, 22 June 2002. Web. 30 April 2014. Leman, Kevin. The birth order book: why you are the way you are. Grand Rapids: Revell, 2009. Print. Voo, Jocelyn. “Birth order and personality”. Parents. August 2006. Web. 30 April 2014.

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