I chose the article “Has Your Birth Order Shaped Who You Are?” by Jeremy Engle. I chose this article because I come from a family with three children and I am the oldest. I have two younger siblings and all my cousins are also younger than me.
I both agree and disagree with the research that was provided in the article. I think that some of the character traits used to describe the firstborn are true, but some also do not apply to me. I absolutely agree with the point that the firstborn tends to be the most reliable. I would argue that the reasoning for the eldest being reliable is because of the fact that the responsibilities they receive as a child; many parents make the oldest responsible for watching out and taking care of their younger siblings. After growing up in an environment where they are constantly responsible for others, they become develop the trait of being reliable.
On the other hand, I do not agree nor disagree with point that the eldest is high-achieving. I think that this depends on each individual. I have multiple friends who are the oldest in their family and are very high-achieving. Meanwhile, I also know some people that are the oldest in their family but they aren’t necessarily high-achievers. I think I fall under the latter category. Not that I would say I don’t aim high, but I think that out of me and my two other siblings, the middle child is the one that I would classify as having the mind-achieving trait.
Overall, I definitely think that birth order does have an affect on the person you become, but the characteristic traits, the ones that are tied to a certain birth order as the study claims, are not completely accurate.