I am the middle child out of three girls, and it is definitely not the easiest thing to deal with. Contrary to what some other people may believe, the middle child gets blamed for everything, even though we are usually perfect and can do no wrong. Even though my sisters and I love each other very much, there are times where I could literally punch them in the face for trying to catch an attitude with me. They get on my nerves, but I know I can always count on them. Fortunately, I don't have any brothers, and I assume that's probably a different dynamic, but if you're a middle child like me, you've probably had these things happen to you:
1. When you were born, the older sibling was in love with you, but that quickly changed.
My sister was an only child for five years before I was born, but when she found out she was going to have a little sister she was so excited! At the hospital she didn't want anyone else to hold me. As soon as I started hitting her and yanking her by the ponytail, she quickly went from being obsessed with me to asking my parents if they could take me back.
2. After being bullied by the older sibling, you were extremely disappointed in your parents when they told you that you were getting another sibling.
Guys, why did you need another child? My older sister and I had a good thing going on for three years before my little sister made her grand entrance into the world. She changed our entire routine and system with her constant crying and storm cloud personality.
3. You've been blamed for everything, even when there is no way you could've done it.
I had to share a room with my younger sister for a good chunk of my life and the thing that got on my nerves the most was when I came home from a week of camp and got yelled at by my parents for having a messy room. How was I supposed to do that when I wasn't even home?
4. You were forced to be the mediator when your siblings couldn't get it together.
Though having to constantly be the rational one has paid off in college, I would get so angry when I'd have to be in the middle of every fight that they had. They were on opposite sides of the '90s, so they didn't really get each other, and I had to be their bridge.
5. You have a sibling that is always stealing your clothes.
Oddly enough, myself and my sisters are all proportioned very differently, but we all wear the same size clothes. This meant that I would come home from school to find one of my sisters wearing my favorite shirt at least twice a week. No amount of arguments could solve the issue though, so you just started to give them clothes so they couldn't steal.
6. Your parents are the most strict on you.
Your older sibling was their first child together, and they didn't really know how to effectively discipline her yet. After realizing that the older child was going to end up a rule breaker, they cracked down on you. You had a set curfew and if you were even one minute late, you would never hear the end of it. They figured that the rules worked well for you, so they were easier on the younger sibling.
7. When telling a story about one of your siblings, other people would get confused because they didn't know who you were talking about.
This one kind of irked my nerves when I was in high school. If I am talking about a sister that's in college, I'm probably not talking about my younger one...
8. You always get to be in the middle of pictures.
Since you're the middle child, there's a good chance your parents might think it's cute to put you in the middle of pictures. This always made you the center of attention and probably helped with your somewhat outgoing personality and people skills that you have when you're older.
9. Sometimes your parents forget about you because the oldest and youngest hog all of the attention.
I did say I have an outgoing personality, but my sisters would sometimes steal the show with their constant arguing. If we were going somewhere and they were fighting, I would just fall asleep to ignore them. One time, I was so quiet (because I was sleeping, duh) that my parents actually forgot me in the car for about 10 minutes. No need to worry, I turned out okay.
10. Your parents might occasionally call you by another sibling's name.
Whenever I got in trouble (which wasn't a lot), my dad would start to say my little sister's name and then realize that wasn't me. I spent a few years angry that my dad kept calling me MaHannah (Mallory + Hannah).
Even though it seems like being the middle child is the ultimate struggle, I don't know what I would do without either of my siblings. They always have my back and I know that they love me unconditionally. All of the lessons you learned from your crazy childhood made you the wonderful person you are today.
