Need to Know: Firstborn Child Personality Traits

Birth order has been shown to affect the personality a child has. Because a first born child has no one to detract attention from them, they are often the child who gets the most attention in a family. They typically seek that attention for the rest of their lives, often well after other children are born.

Most first born children end up developing one of two different personality types. They are often fairly compliant or fairly aggressive. Here are a look at the traits that accompany those two personality types:

Compliant-
They are often people pleasers. They are the first born, so people turn to them when they need something done, and as a result, they become needy of approval. They are also typically nurturers. They often help with the care and upbringing of younger siblings, and are often called on to help them feel better when they are hurt, etc. This often results in a nurturing personality. They are natural caregivers. They are also often considered reliable. They tend to have a cooperative or team spirit type of attitude, and will often be seen doing things for others, or putting someone else before themselves.

Aggressive Traits-
Often times a first born child will be a natural leader. They are used to the leadership role being the oldest child, and will often become very driven adults. They are the ones that get things done. They are often used to having a lot of attention, which may result in them being a bit of perfectionist because of the close scrutiny they often live under. They tend to have things under control, and want things their way or no way. They tend to be conventional in their thinking and beliefs, and will be assertive when needed. It is a very strong personality.

Of course, regardless of whether the first born child is the first personality type of the second, they will typically share a number of characteristics that come with the first in birth order. These are as follows:

They are often fairly logical, and scholarly. Many times the first born will be energetic, and this typically leads to an ambition and drive that may not be found in other children. The role of the first born is often a hard shoe to fill. Everything you do is new and exciting, and everything anyone else does is measured against what you did. This means that as a first born, your personality develops a drive or competitiveness to succeed and be perfect. If not, one might suffer from depression, or be extra hard on themselves.

As a parent, it is important to remember that your first born child is separate from other children, and it is unfair to measure them all against the same standard, as every child is very different. Let them grow up themselves before being given responsibilities such as tending or caring for siblings.