In my experience with my family, I feel that Dr. Grose is only about half right. Granted, Justin is in a "revered" position in our family but his location was never difficult. Furthermore, I don't feel that my parents" expectations for Justin exceeded the expectations they held for Amber or myself. Despite his best efforts to be a pioneer, Mom and Dad would not let Amber and I do half the things Justin was allowed to do because we were of the more delicate sex. Justin may not "fit" into the textbook definition of how an oldest sibling should be or act, but he does have many of the characteristics that theorists suggest he may possess. .
My sister, the middle sibling, is the Wild One. Amber has no distinction like Justin, the first-born, or myself, the baby. She is the average child - destined to lie in limbo between the two extremes. Due to her position, she spent her entire adolescence acting out in order to get attention. Now she has resorted to tattoos, piercings, hair dye, strange clothes, and unusual jobs to gain my parents attention and stand out from Justin and me. Academically, Amber did excel. However, she always found ways to inject her very strange and humorous personality into her schoolwork. For example, she wrote a college essay on the Popular Culture impact of the Mullet (the haircut). According to Dr. Grose, second-born children often adopt behaviors and characteristics that are the exact opposite of the first-born. The second-borns are often the black sheep of their families choosing to make their mark in unconventional ways. As far as my family goes, Dr. Grose has hit the hammer on the head when it comes to my sister. Amber became the wild one not out of spite, but out of necessity for attention.
The youngest child is, at least in my opinion, the Princess. I am the youngest in our family and I live up to my title quite well. Justin and Amber harbor a great deal of resentment toward me in that I always seem to get exactly what I want.
