The oldest child is bossy, the youngest child is babied, and then there's me, the middle child. Growing up in a family of 5 kids; two older sisters and two younger siblings, life has been anything but boring. From being compared to my older siblings, to sharing almost everything I own with my youngest sibling, being the middle child has taught me a lot. I often hear jokes about having the “middle child syndrome” and the “common middle child traits”, but I consider myself having just the opposite of those traits. I have learned how to stand out, how to be competitive, and how to be independent. I wouldn't have the skills and perks I have today without being the middle child.
1. You are competitive
From Fighting for who gets the T.V remote to trying to win over who gets the most attention, there is never a lack of competition when you're the middle child.
2. Your parents are Lenient with you
Since you're the middle child, its not your parents first rodeo, this means that they have been there and done that with your older sibling/s. Middle children don’t have to deal with the anxiety of first-time parents. Usually, the older sibling/s has to wait a long time for a cell phone, or later curfew, but with you, they will most likely get you a cell phone at a younger age, and let you push a few curfew buttons. Since you're not the baby, they don't have a fear of you "growing up to fast".
3. You are over-protective
Okay, here you get the best of both worlds. No one is going to pick on you with your over-protective siblings around, but you also get to make sure that your younger siblings aren't getting picked on either. You're the first to know news or problems regarding your younger sibling and the first to fix it. No matter how many times your younger sibling/s tell you to "mind your own business" we probably never will.
4. You are great at sharing
Chances are you’ve shared a room at some point in your life, making you a well-practiced college roommate. Whether its your clothes, your favorite food, or your room, you end up learning how to share. Yes, you may want to eat the whole container or Ben & Jerry's ice cream you just bought, but you can't really say no to your younger sibling/s who has practically mastered the puppy dog eyes. Although you probably had to steal your older siblings shirt when they said no.
5. Learn from mistakes and pass on advice
The great thing about being a middle child, is that you get to learn from your older sibling/s mistakes before you make them yourself. This is also great, because you get to pass down some of your own advice to the younger siblings, they may see it as nagging, but one day they will understand. Middle children have a role model for how to be a role model.
6. You can make strong relationships with people no matter age
The middle children have the ability to connect with each sibling no matter the difference in age. This helps us out in real life, because we know how to change diapers, and correctly talk to younger children, but we also know how to hold intellectual conversations due to our experience with older sibling/s.
7. You tend to be independent
You don't like when people try to influence your decisions, especially your older siblings, you try to create your own path and stand out. We are not the leader of the pack nor a follower, so we tend to play by our own rules.
8. You have a mini butler
If you are a middle child, and you say you've never come up with a scheme to get your younger sibling to do something for you, like saying, "ill time you" when you ask them to get you a drink, you are 100% lying.
9. We tend to be rebellious
We tend to question authority and do what we want so that we can stand out from our over-achieving sibling/s
10. We are powerful
Over 52% of our presidents have been middle children as well as other famous and powerful people such as Bill Gates, Jennifer Lopez, Brittney Spears, Madonna and Martin Luther King Jr.
