Importance of Birth Order

Being an only child for my parents, I have been stereotyped often, sometimes even before people actually get to know me. This sore part of my life turned out to be not-so-bad recently when my colleague led me to an article about birth order and how the recent research shows startling results. I have jotted down the results of study here:

** First borns are confident, determined, born-leaders, organized, eager to please others and themselves and like to avoid troubles. On the downside, there's definite pressure from family and high expectations from everyone. Some famous first borns include George W. Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey.

** Middle borns handle disappointments better, act as great negotiators, tend to make loyal friends easily and end up with a more relaxed attitude towards life. With the middle borns, parents are often more easy-going and less demanding. with second and third children. Some famous middle borns include Jay Leno, Donald Trump and Barbara Walters.

** Youngest children in a family are persistent, affectionate, great storytellers, love to make people laugh or take center stage. Many actors and comedians are the youngest children in their families. On the downside, many youngest children find that their parents don't give them a lot of attention or praise during important first-time events. Famous youngest children Drew Carey, Rosie O'Donnell, Jim Carey, Whoopi Goldberg and Eddie Murphy.

** Only Children have most of their traits similar to the first born. They are confident, try to be perfectionists, pay attention to detail, good in academics, tend to read a lot and have a good memory for facts and figures, spend a lot of time with grown-ups and so are confident and well-spoken. On the downside, the only children can find themselves under a ton of pressure to succeed, have difficulty going second and sometimes overly critical. Famous "Onlies" include F.D. Roosevelt, Robert DeNiro, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron and Robin Williams.

Maybe its not so bad being an only kid ....personally, do you think birth order causes any qualm in one's life?

PS: This is just a common trait. There are always exceptions!!