Oldest child syndrome refers to a number of characteristics people develop as an outcome of being the first-born. For instance, following the birth of another baby, the firstborn goes from being the “only child” of their parents to having to share their parent's love and attention with a younger sibling.
“Firstborn children can be goal-oriented, outspoken, stubborn, independent, and perfectionistic,” Smelser says, and when you look at the way firstborns are nurtured, it starts to make sense why. “These traits are often reinforced by parents through their interactions with the child,” she says.
Oldest Child - “The Achiever”
As a result, firstborn children tend to be responsible, well-behaved, and possess strong leadership qualities. The oldest children are often held to a higher standard than the later-borns. They are the first of everything, and their parents are going through it for the first time, too.
02/5The first born syndrome
From having undivided attention to competing for parents' love and affection, this drastic change often leads to developing a 'me first' syndrome in the first born child. He/she may develop an unhealthy competitive attitude, especially with the little sibling.
Obsession, desire for perfection, high self-esteem, or pressure to meet parents' expectations are common signs of oldest child syndrome. Children with oldest child syndrome could show dominance and act as second parents to siblings.
Eldest daughter syndrome is the burden felt by oldest daughters because they're given too many adult responsibilities in their family before they're ready. Eldest daughter syndrome can make women feel overburdened, stressed out, and constantly responsible for others.
According to Adler, the first born is more susceptible to depression because of high expectations of parents and suddenly losing the attention due to another sibling being born.
Researchers have found a correlation between risk-taking and being the last-born sibling.
Firstborn children are taller compared to those born subsequently, and this height advantage increases sharply over the higher order of birth of siblings.
First-born kids tend to be leaders, like CEOS and founders, and are more likely to achieve traditional success. Middle-born children often embody a mix of the traits of older and younger siblings, and they're very relationship-focused.
Domineering: As a way to establish dominance over their younger sibling(s), an oldest child may be more authoritarian as their siblings grow. Protective: Oldest children are often given the role of caregiver for their younger siblings, which reinforces protective behaviors.
No matter how old you are, you're expected to take more responsibility, even when you're a very young person yourself. That's one reason that oldest children are often described as responsible, sensitive, perfectionistic, and a bit more anxious than their siblings.
The reason firstborns are under attack is because they are pacesetters. They are the family's glory and honour. If the devil can attack them, he can get the rest of the children in the family. Again, the firstborn has influence over the other children in the family; hence he is meant to be the mentor to them.
Firstborns tend to possess psychological characteristics related to leadership, including responsibility, creativity, obedience and dominance. They are also more likely to have higher academic abilities and levels of intelligence than their younger siblings.
The firstborn is used to being the centre of attention: (s)he has Mum and Dad to him / herself before siblings arrive – statistics suggest that oldest children enjoy on average approx. 3,000 more hours of quality time with their parents between ages 4 and 13 than their siblings will get.
The study found that first-born siblings are more likely to survive to 100 years when compared to later-born siblings (odds ratio [OR] = 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18–2.66, p = 0.006).
Identical twins are the only siblings that share 100% of their DNA. Non-identical brothers and sisters share about 50% of inherited gene variants, which is why siblings and fraternal twins can be so different.
A growing collection of studies suggests that being the youngest sibling may come along with some major health advantages. Researchers have found that the baby of the family is often slimmer and less prone to illness. As a result, younger siblings can expect to live longer than their older brothers and sisters.
A new study shows that first-born children tend to be smarter than their siblings and second-born children are more likely to cause trouble. The University of Edinburgh study reported that the oldest child tends to have a higher IQ and thinking skills than their younger siblings.
The best students tend to be the oldest of three children, with a brother less than two years younger than them and a sister at least five years younger. Birth order studies are a dime a dozen, but scientists have spilled far less ink on sibling configurations.
A recent study has found that it's not the youngest child that's liked the most. It's actually the eldest! While eldest children around the world have had to be the example for their younger siblings and parents being extra strict on them, it looks like there was a good reason.
Many previous studies looked into this relationship. There is evidence that the first born children experience more stress than their younger siblings.
Researchers at the University of Illinois used a sample of 377,000 schoolchildren and found there were differences in personality traits, with the eldest sibling tending to be more extroverted, agreeable and conscientious.
Hence, first-borns may be more likely to feel more emotional distress than younger siblings and only one child and, in turn, have an increased risk of conduct problems.