A good question. I was the last of 3 children but grew up as an only child with no knowledge of my siblings.

I fit the most common traits of the middle child.

That's an interesting guestion. In my personal and professional opinion, first born girl children are most likely to be "The Responsible One." The one the rest of the family calls on for help and guidance. Certainly true of many of us.

In order I guess...
Yes. An older sister.
Youngest.
Not so much by birth order as much as family order. Let me explain that one though...
My older sister used to beat the hell out of me almost daily. When I was about twelve I'd finally had enough and put her in her place which led to me getting the crap kicked out of me by my step-father. Shortly after that my sister got a boyfriend who was a couple years older than her but not yet 18 and in a bad situation at home. My parents adopted him to get him out of the situation he was in. Needless to say that he was a pothead among other things. After that I kind of got shuffled off to the side. Ignored unless someone wanted something from me. My parents took in another troublemaker shortly after that was already over 21 but needed a place to stay so they moved him into my room and me into the small spare room, giving my sister and them pretty much the entire half of the house. (We lived in a duplex with the dividing wall cut out.) So seeing how important I was to my family I avoided trouble, did my school work and that was about it. Any time my parents left I would either try to go with them or go to a friends house because they would always have someone check up on the house and these idiots would always get caught with alcohol, pot and other things in plain sight when they walked in. My sister ended up getting home-schooled because she couldn't handle the drama of our little town. I ended up doing two years of her math work because of this along with my own work. She got a settlement from a childhood accident and bought a new blazer at 16 which she totaled a month later only to get another one. I didn't get my first car until I was 18 and had to buy it myself. She bought a house when she was 18 (it ended up getting seized in a drug bust.) My parents refused to cosign a student loan so I could go to college. She is mentally unstable and her kids end up getting shipped off to my mother for months at a time while she "fixes herself." I'm a parent of two boys that I wouldn't give up for the world living with my friend, his wife and their kid so we can afford to be a happy (if slightly dysfunctional) family.

YES, without question

Without a doubt. Everything was my responsibility

Yeah. I am the youngest of 4. Two older brothers and one older sister. No wonder I'm a wreck. Never had a chance. And they're all kitchen Catholics, too. Well, there it is. Anyone got Dr Phil's number?

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.

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

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'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 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'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 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.

Not really. I'm the oldest.

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

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, 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.

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

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.

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

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 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'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.

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.