Middle Kids
Most people believe middle children are prone to feeling insecure and left out because they get less attention. Their primary emotional state? Jealousy of siblings. Studies show that we think these problems are real and inescapable. A City College of New York study found participants were most likely to use words like \u201coverlooked\u201d to describe middle children\u2014 while completely unlikely to use the word \u201cspoiled.\u201d\xa0\nPsychologist Dr. Alfred Adler first proposed a \u201cmiddle child syndrome\u201d in the 1920s, and ever since, most of us have assumed the Jan-Brady worst. But Dr. Adler also believed that middle children\u2019s place in the birth order made them \u201cuniquely poised to succeed.\u201d Are we getting it wrong? Are there lifelong benefits for kids who grow up neither the pressured oldest nor the coddled youngest?\xa0\nIn this episode we discuss:\xa0\u201cmiddleborns\u201d vs \u201cclassic middles,\u201d and how both are disappearing from the American demographicthe negativity of the \u201cmiddle child syndrome,\u201d and whether or not it bears outwhy middle children are more independent and open-mindedwhy middle children have a greater appetite for riskhow the \u201cambient neglect\u201d a middle child sometimes receives can be an incredible giftWriter Adam Sternbergh, himself a middle, says that\xa0"being a middle child is not something you aspire to; it\u2019s something that happens to you.\u201d While that may be true, it also turns out that we should perhaps all be jealous of them. Being a middle kid can be secretly great. \nHere's links to research and other writing on the topic discussed in this episode: \nAdam Sternbergh for The Cut: The Extinction of the Middle Child\nDr. Catherine Salmon:The Secret Power of Middle Children: How Middleborns Can Harness Their Unexpected and Remarkable Abilities\nLindsay Dodgson for Business Insider: 'Middle child syndrome' doesn't actually exist \u2014 but it still might come with some surprising psychological advantages\nRisk-taking middle-borns: A study on birth- order and risk preferences \n\nAbi Berwager Schreier for Romper: Do Middle Children Really Have More Issues? Jan Brady Wasn't The Only One\nAlphaparent: Optimum Family Size Facts \nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices