I was second, the one that took attention away feom my big brother. He was always wonderful to me, my best friend. when he was killed in Viet Nam, I was a leftover, a lonely leftover. I think that it is why I wanted at least three kids. Now I have three wonderful-grown up-kids, and they are great to each other. and great to me.

I only had three older brothers until I was 7. Being the baby for a long time, I dealt with that over protectiveness and could get away with murder. But when my little brother was born, I was responsible for everything. I still am, especially because he's special needs. My mom used to be a lot more strict with all the kids but with my little brother, she's extremely lenient to the point where I have to enforce the discipline. I know I hate being responsible because I've had to be for a long time when I was so used to being taken care of by everybody so yeah I assume my birth order really affected me but not as much as my parents parenting styles did.

It definitely affected my life. My mother had 6 kids and I was the oldest. At age 6, I was watching out for a 4 year old and a 2 year old while mom took care of the baby. As I got older, mom always had a baby to take care of and I just got more I had to watch over. When it was time for school in the mornings, Mom would open the bedroom door and tell me to get everyone up. My mother placed me in a position of authority over my younger brothers and sisters and I was never a part of my brothers and sisters lives. They resented me my whole life because I was the one that was their authority figure while my mom remained friends with all of them. I have felt at times like a sacrifice for the good of the family. Mom passed a couple months ago but to this day, I still don't have the relationship with my brothers and sisters that they have with each other. It's like I was always on the other team.

I'm the baby in my family but I think what had more impact on my personality was the fact that my brother's neurological issues are more severe than mine. Because my issues are generally milder than his, I have a lot of older sibling traits even though I'm the baby sister.

I was the oldest. Couldn't wait for my dad to go over seas. That was the best year of my life... me and my sister would of thrown a party if we were old enough. I think my life turned around when I saw the beautiful blond across the street that I gave a tip every day and realized someone else is going to be her man because I was working at a crappy service station. I did end up marrying her.... she was my first wife.

I am the eldest in the family and I broke the way for my sister and 65 cousins. I was the first to college,first to join military,First to marry outside the faith, first to move away from family. All of these had a large affect on me.

I have books on this very topic, it's fascinating to me. I'm the oldest.

It’s a law of averages, but you revert to “only child” after about 5 years spacing which is seldom recalled.

I'm the youngest of 4 by at least 10 years. I was either the mistake or the "we're bored and want that baby feeling again" lol

My oldest brother was first and he is a little more stoic than the rest of us. My second oldest brother is emotional and was more of a rebel. My sister is the 3rd oldest and she is emotional and was somewhat of a rebel too when she was younger. Like I said, I'm the youngest. I was spoiled more than the others because it's obviously easier buying stuff for the youngest when they're 10, 11, and 12 years apart from the others. I was afforded the luxury of being on baseball teams when I was younger. Back when I was a kid it was like $200 to join a team and then spikes and a glove had to be bought. When 3 kids are so close together they either all get something or they all get nothing when your parents don't have money. I'm the only one of the 4 to go to college too.

Everything that happened because of me being the youngest AND so far apart in age makes a difference in character and personality I think. I have kind of felt like I had more responsibility on me and more expectations too though because I'm the only one to go to college.

There are obviously a lot more factors that go into who we are, but yeah I think it makes a difference.

I am the youngest of 6. Yes, that has influenced me a great deal. My natural inclination ha often been to defer to others, because that is what I grew up doing. It took a while as an adult to stop doing that.

Firstborn. I'm more independent than my younger sister.

yes, being the oldest of three clearly shaped part of my personality. i was adored the first three years of my life, in particular by my father. so when my sister (with twin, who didn't survive her first 10 weeks) arrived with all the drama attached, it was a hard drop into a different reality. since then i have a thing with sharing the sweetness of life - i'm working on it. when at 18 i felt i had to leave the nest & make my own life, the detachment process was harder for my parents - & thus for me too - than it was a few years later for my younger sibs, to claim freedom & independence. what's left is a toughness when it comes to leaving.

I am the third of three births within 29 months. I was the "baby" for seven years before my little brother was born. On the other side, my mother had a two-year-old, a one-year-old (my sister was born 13months before me) when I came along. I think my mother might have felt overwhelmed. I've noticed a fundamental difference in my philosophy over that of my siblings.

Yes. Oldest of 3 boys (and least favourite).

Yes I think so. I am the middle child. My older brother was and is my mother's favorite child. My little sister was my father's favorite until he died. I always had to try a little harder to get attention, accolades, or even fair treatment (my brother bullied me) regardless of the fact I was by far the smartest of the three. That experience left me with relentless competitive drive, a chip on my shoulder, and an enduring understanding that meritocracy is undervalued in our society.

Not really. I'm the oldest.

I was the second of twins and my twin brother hung himself in 2014. So.yes I do. Survior guilt is a very real phenomenon and I always wondered what demons he faced in life simply by being born 15 minutes earlier.

I have an older half-brother and half-sister. My half-brother lived with us for the first several years of my life. And I have a younger sister. I never really felt like a middle child, maybe because my half-siblings are considerably older, but I also didn't feel quite like the eldest. I'm unsure what that says about my personality, though. I guess it's as good a thing as any to blame my detachment, anxiety, misanthropy, etc., on.

I'm 5 metric years older than my brother. There's never been any serious competition between us. As i grew into the black sheep he never treated me any different. We are tight. As kids, i remember, feeling protective especially if mom wasn't handy. don't worry much about him these days. He is almost twice my size.

I am number six of seven and my mother's only daughter. I was always very close to her. My dad, who adopted me when I was one, brought a daughter and a son into their marriage (two of the seven kids). My sister is seven years older than I and got married when I was nine (yes, she was only 16); so, mostly it was me and five brothers; and I was also surrounded by male cousins. I think this affected me more than birth order. I was a tomboy growing up; on the rare occasions when I would do something "girly," my brothers would tease me about it. I also felt like an outsider a lot of the time, and still do in many ways. I was always well behaved and shy. I never smart-mouthed my parents (as my brothers would at times) and I was always mature for my age. I have often wondered whether I would have turned out differently had I grown up with sisters instead of brothers--or at least had a sister closer to my own age. I am the ONLY atheist in the bunch--but, I think that has more to do with being the only one of seven to attend a university. Although, I had questions and doubts before I started college. The most difficult thing for me, when I left my religious beliefs behind, was losing the connection with my mother that I had always had.

I was the baby with two sisters 6 and 7 years older no brothers, oh my what I got away with spoiled beyond belief! It impacted me by respecting women , not being a Trumpian. I have more female friends than male and prefer their company which my birth order says is normal. Not a macho man am I.

I'm the youngest of three. I'd say yes it makes a difference. I can see the difference in my four kids. It's a trip.

I'm the youngest of two brothers, I'm the youngest middle if you add in my two step sisters. My parents were less strict with me on some things than my brother. Also getting beat up by him made me start working out and getting into fitness. It also made me learn to not take shift from anybody.

I dunno, I've never thought about it. I'm going away to think about it now.

I was an only child until at the age of 56 I discoved my big sister. Our personalities were of course formed without knowing each other. It has been fascinating to work out which parts of us are nature and which are nurture.