Being the first child has its benefits, like having all of your parents' undivided attention for however long that lasts, and getting large amounts of money spent on you for a few years before a new sibling comes into the picture, but other than that, it can suck sometimes.
It can suck because everything is much harder on you from the jump and then on for the rest of your life.
Being the first child, I guess parents just expect you to be perfect and to not make mistakes, so imagine being the perfect child and still getting criticized for every little thing you may not do completely perfectly.
I was a good child, and I often felt like I did everything right, but with little praise and much more scrutiny. Of course, things such as your first steps, graduating middle school or high school, and getting into college came with celebration, but as I've gotten older it's seemed like I still get scrutinized for more than my younger sibling.
Of course, I would F up here and there, but nothing major. I got great grades, got into a good school, and now I'm doing more than I could ever imagine, but I'd be lying if I said that I don't still feel unworthy of some things because of how this first child second child situation panned out for me.
As the first born, I get that parents are more uptight and cautious because it's their first time around with a kid as much as it's your first time around navigating this thing called life, but at some point, that extra scrutiny needs to stop.
Parents need to learn to let us live and celebrate us when we take on more than we can carry and succeed in doing so, rather than continuously tell us we aren't doing enough or redirect our attention to things that are out of our control.
It's frustrating being the firstborn because all of the things you were never allowed to do, your new sibling gets away with doing in a heartbeat. You had a curfew at 10 pm? Well, the joke's on you because your little brother or sister gets a curfew of 12 pm, or maybe they don't even have to come home!
Maybe they can get away with crashing at a friends house. But me? My first born self COULD NEVER.
Being the first born may have its few perks, but I definitely wish I was born second sometimes!
