Being the oldest sibling is a unique role to fill within a family. While there are many benefits to being the oldest (being able to boss your younger siblings around), there are also some downfalls to being the first child to go through everything. Here are 5 facts you should know to be true if you are the oldest sibling in your family!
Fact 1: Being the oldest sibling gives you certain privileges that the younger kids don't have. We are often the first to experience new things in life such as going to high school, getting our licenses and eventually going off to college. While it is great to be able to do all of these things, as the oldest siblings we often wish there had been someone to go before us and offer us wise words of wisdom for how to tackle each road bump that may come our way.
Fact 2: Being the first sibling to go out and get a license means that our parents were extra nervous about their firstborn child getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Licenses represent freedom and independence, and it's scary to be the first child to go through the process of getting one! However, now that one sibling has gone through this experience, it is easier for parents to accept that all of their children will eventually be driving on their own.
Fact 3: Being the oldest has some downfalls. Our parents were often more concerned with letting us do things than they were with our siblings because we were the first ones to begin to venture out on our own. As we grew up, we wanted more independence and freedom -- being the first ones to desire these things made it more difficult for our parents to begin to let go.
Fact 4: Siblings fight. Growing up, I'm sure that I called my siblings every name in the book and then some. But, whenever anyone else has even a negative thought towards them, I am the one who comes to their defense. As the eldest, our first job in life is to be the protectors of our siblings.
Fact 5: Now that I'm about to enter my 20s, I have started to appreciate my siblings as friends rather than annoying people that I'm forced to live with. I'm not quite sure what I would have done if I had been raised as an only child, but I do know that life would not be nearly as much fun.
