If you’re a firstborn child, then you’re likely a perfectionist.
You value authority, you’re responsible, and you may be a little more conservative than the rest of your siblings.
While your birth order isn’t the only factor that determines your personality, according to parenting educator Michael Grose, it is an indicator, and accounts for the individual differences between kids in the same family.
Author of ‘Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It‘, Grose told Mamamia that firstborns tend to “take on the main traits from the family”. For example, if their parents are working professionals, they will likely go on to be a professional.
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Conversely, youngest children might enter a trade.
Firstborns are more likely to go into professions like medicine or law, and their greatest strengths are their determination, focus and discipline.
“They’re often the good kids in the family, the ones that follow all the rules,” Grose said.
“Everything goes your way when you’re a firstborn,” Grose added, and then when a second child comes along, they ultimately adapt to the firstborn’s routine.
Firstborns want to keep their position of power and influence, meaning they often feel a lot of pressure.
Their early years are defined by a great deal of parental attention, and Grose said that when a sibling arrives, “a firstborn is an only child who’s been dethroned”.
