The Rule of Threes - Growing up a Middle Child

 By Ally 

There has been a ton of research on personality traits developed by birth order. While I do not know much about this subject, I thought it would be interesting to compare these theories with my own experience as a middle child. 

Alfred Adler came up with his birth order theory, which attempts to understand personality traits that may be based on birth order. One of the most commonly known segments of this theory is "middle child syndrome." The Middle Child Syndrome is the idea that children born in the middle of their siblings can often feel neglected or overshadowed, but also becomes the peacemaker of the family. Sandwiched between the baby of the family and the first born child, the middle child can often feel lost. 

I can see where this theory comes from, however, in my case it was never entirely true. My parents did a good job at making us all feel equally loved. In my case, I never felt overshadowed, but because of our differing personalities and interests, I was usually the "odd one out." All three of us were put into dance classes at a very young age. While my sisters decided to continue to dance at a competitive level, I decided it was not for me and instead joined a soccer team. I never felt neglected, but these activities did come with different levels of parent involvement.

The part I will agree with is the idea of the middle child as a peacemaker. Whether its a personality trait developed from birth order or not, I have always felt the need to keep the peace in my family. Being the mediator during fights and trying to say things in ways the other would understand are roles that I have taken upon myself. I also have tried to become comic relief to prevent fights from starting (however I don't know how successful this is. Most of my humor is me laughing at myself).

Growing up a middle child gave me an interesting perspective on the world. I was able to have the perspective of being a younger sibling as well as an older sibling. My experience as a middle child really helped me become who I am today. Like Hannah Montana said, it really was the "best of both worlds."