Sibling birth order can Affect your health and well-being in different ways.
While birth order is known to influence people’s personality traits and behavior, it affects aspects of your health, including your immune system, obesity risk, anxiety levels layered by the intricate role of birth order.
The Firstborn child:
Firstborn children tend to be responsible, or rule followers. They often take on the caretaking role among their siblings. They can be prone to worry and are often seen as mature for their age. They are known to be comfortable taking charge. CEOs are more likely to be the firstborn child. They are more likely to get higher education and make more money than their younger siblings.
Firstborns were more likely to be born preterm and with lower birth weight compared to their later-born siblings. Earlier-born children are more likely to participate in preventive medical screenings, their vaccine uptake rates are higher and they see their general practitioner (GP) or pediatrician more often.
Because they’re born first, the oldest sibling is often “parentified,” or pushed into a parent-like role. For girls, there’s even a specific term for this — eldest daughter syndrome, which describes the disproportionate responsibility often given to the oldest girl in the family.
Essentially, the eldest child grows up too fast as a form of survival. They learn at a young age that taking care of others is where their self-worth lies since that is what their caregiver valued in them.
Because of this, older siblings may end up being more conscientious or careful, possibly because of the higher expectations placed on them, and may be more proactive in managing their health.
But this kind of upbringing can have dangerous implications on their mental health.
Oldest children are 48% more likely to have anxiety and 35% more likely to have depression than those who came later in the birth order.
The Middle child:
Ah, the middle child. If you are one, then you already know the struggle of being overlooked and forgotten. There’s even a term for it: middle child syndrome.
Sandwiched between the responsible eldest and the free-spirited youngest, middle children tend to be the peacemaking mediators of the family. While they can be people pleasers, they are also known to be rebels who try to carve out their own path. Middle children engage in riskier behavior than their older siblings.
It might be a tough place in the birth order, but being the in-between also has its benefits. Middle children rank high in honesty, kindness and cooperation. But they “tend to ignore their needs because it wasn't ever about them."
This can affect mental well-being, sometimes manifesting as anxiety or depression, especially if the middle child’s role in the family wasn't clearly defined or validated.
When it comes to physical health, middle children tend to have better immune systems than the oldest because of the early exposure to germs.
