If you are an oldest child, you have have most likely heard one or all of these:

1. "You should know better."

Flashback to when you were eight and you and your siblings were raising hell (as small children do). Whatever shenanigan that had occurred became mostly your fault because the assumption was that you were both older and wiser than your hooligan younger siblings. There were some expectations placed on you that may not have been placed on them, which brings to mind something else oldest children hear quite often...

2. "Set the example."

Especially when I was younger, I heard this one a lot. How you handled this responsibility as the oldest sibling to 'set the example' went one of two ways. If you were behaving yourself and your siblings got out of line, you looked like an angel from up above. If you were out of line as well, though, you took part of the blame for what went wrong and your parents were probably 'very disappointed in you.'

3. "You're in charge."

Another one I heard a lot when I was younger. Sweet, sweet freedom, and yes, the glorious power.

This all seemed great until someone or something got out of hand and I used my powers for discipline, which was answered by...

4. "Let ME be the parent."

I was once again powerless.

5. "Can you pick up ___ from ___?"

Person from place, food from restaurant, item from store... you are presumably the first licensed child in your house, so unlike "empty the dishwasher," these requests cannot be differed to your younger sibling. You became the driver and designated errand-runner (but if you stopped for ice cream on the way home, no one ever needed to know).

6. Secrets / Surprises (before anyone else)

You tend to find these things out first. Maybe your siblings are blabbermouths, maybe 'you can handle it,' maybe you just have a sixth sense for knowing when there's classified information and you're on the outer circle.

7. "No" (usually more than your siblings hear it)

Parents tend to loosen up over time. While you may have had to wait until you were thirteen to watch PG13 movies, your younger siblings were allowed to see PG13 movies once you could watch them, as well as a small selection of R-rated movies by age 12. You may be subject to stricter rules overall just because you’re the first child. Your younger siblings are actually learning from your experiences and thinking “Thank God she’s the test dummy.”

8. "I can't wait for you to go back to school."

In a moment of anger or frustration, any given member of your family (but usually your younger siblings) may say this to you. You're probably thinking, "I can't wait to get back, either."

It probably is never meant as harshly as it comes off by either party.

9. "I can't wait for you to come home."

One of my favorite texts to ever receive came before spring break my freshman year. It was from my sister, the middle child between my brother and I. It read “The spirit of you has overtaken me. Please come back.” She meant that since I’d left, she’d been more like the ‘oldest’ even though the age gap between her and my brother is small. She had taken on the responsibilities that usually fell on me and had to deal with things from a totally different standpoint. And even though things at home quickly returned to normal upon my arrival, I felt like my role as the oldest was monumentally more appreciated by the siblings who had never experienced it.