Ah, the dread Middle Child. The phrase alone draws up awful connotations of temper tantrums, screaming fits, and the much-anticipated Middle Child Syndrome. *Cue lightning and thunder sound effects... Or horror movie scream. Whichever you prefer.*
Well I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it's all a bunch of crap. Yep, that's right. I, a middle child, can testify to the stigma that is placed on me, and all the other middle children out there! You might think my place as a middle child discredits me from speaking on the behalf of others, as I'm partial to my kind. While I am slightly partial, this is more about breaking stereotypes, people! You can be born in between two other kids and not be a complete and total tool. IT IS POSSIBLE.
I don't have too many friends that are fellow middle children. In fact, upon learning that I am in fact a middle child, they make disgusted faces, shocked noises, or offer up no response, completely dumbfounded by this truth bomb that I've just dropped. Since when did being born 2/3 mean you were automatically an outcast, a freak, or a ticking time bomb everyone around you was waiting to go off?! News flash, friends: you can be the oldest child and be a freak. You can be the youngest child and have the craziest crazy eyes. Sure, I've written semester-long research papers on birth order, and how psychologists have devoted their lives' work on proving theories related to birth order, and the ways in which where you fall on the sibling totem pole affect your personality. And while a lot of those theories do offer some interesting perspectives that are true in many families, they're not true for every family.
That's the thing about siblings-- no two are the same. My sisters and I all grew up in the same house with the same parents doing basically the same things. We went to the same elementary and middle schools, did the same after-school activities, and played the same dumb games together. And yet, from time we were old enough to have personalities, we've all had different ones. Aside from the way we all talk (which is freakishly similar) and our matching dark hair/eyes combo, we're almost nothing alike. But we made it work.
Despite all of that, they've never been stigmatized for being the oldest or the youngest. They've never had fellow oldest/youngest children try to sympathize for this cross they have to bear for being the oldest/youngest. This is a solely middle-child experience.
Personally, I've loved being the middle child. I get the best of both worlds: my older sister gets to make all the mistakes first, and then I, in turn, make an entirely different set of mistakes for my younger sister. I am both oldest and youngest all rolled into one. I have a pretty unique perspective. I don't bear the responsibility of being the oldest, but also don't have people pinching my cheeks at a moment's notice for being the youngest (sorry Jessie!). My older sister had hit all the major milestones before me, so by the time I did it all didn't seem as scary, and I still had the benefit of helping my younger sister through it all along the way.
I hope I've done an adequate job of showing why being the middle child isn't a death wish. It is possible to be born in between two others and turn out (fairly) normal. Maybe I'm an anomaly. Maybe I had great parents (I do) and great siblings (Duh!). Either way, I'll take middle child every single time.
