![]() ![]() It reached a low of 28% in 1986, after a period of multiple recessions. However, it is still far below the share in 1967 and earlier, when a clear majority of Americans said three or more is the ideal number.Īmericans’ preference for families with three or more children began to decline after the Baby Boom era and through the 1970s and ’80s. The current share of adults who see three or more children as the ideal family size is the highest since 1997, when, amid a thriving economy, 42% said this. adults (41%) think families of three or more children are ideal, a share rivaling that of around two decades ago, according to a recent Gallup survey. And that’s all the more reason to celebrate my Grand’s birthday.Ahead of National Middle Child Day, some have recently pondered whether middle children are “going extinct.” Yet new data on the number of children Americans see as “ideal” suggest that middle-child families could become more popular again: Roughly four-in-ten U.S. Obviously, birth order is only one possible factor that determines a person’s personality, but most adult middle children say being stuck in the middle wasn’t easy. Kevin Leman wrote in his book, The Birth Order Book, that middle children are tenacious adults because they learn that life isn’t fair so they are more adaptable and value compromise. Middles are younger siblings, but also older ones, and they can be overshadowed by their siblings. Yet, as they get older, they are sociable and have a need for friends, often labeled as the family’s ‘Social Butterfly.’īeing a middle child can be tough. Young middles might misbehave and demand their way to get their parents’ attention. Middles’ need for independence and to fit in can be strengths, but are sometimes seen as problems. Middles survey the situation and offer ideas for a decision that all can accept. When a group can’t agree on a restaurant, a middle suggests somewhere that everyone will like. An older middle is often the life of the party, the one who tells jokes and pries the wallflowers from the wall. While most walk calmly on the sidewalk, the middles likely dance, hop and twirl. Maybe you’ve accompanied a group of children on a field trip. ![]() If you have a middle in your life – friend or family member – you know that they made life a bit more fun. ![]() But we might, in her words, “do something we haven’t thought of yet.” So, we have talked about a day at a museum and lunch at a restaurant where she’s never eaten. “Because I’ve already done both of those,” my Grand said. “Tell me why those aren’t good ideas,” I said. She didn’t smile or show a positive response. I suggested that Husband and I give her an experience – not a wrapped-in-a-box gift – and offered two things I knew she liked to do. She showed her middleness when she and I talked about her birthday gift. Middle Child Day is August 12, but I can’t wait until August to celebrate middles because Annabel is celebrating her birthday this week. Middle-born children were usually flexible, sociable, peacemakers, creative, and liked to try something new or different, even colored pencils. First-borns tended to be perfectionists and had three sharpened pencils the youngest felt entitled and searched for a pencil. Those who study family dynamics acknowledge that birth order can affect a person’s personality and I saw some of the stereotypical traits while teaching elementary age students. My friend shook her head and said, “And I thought I had it tough!” Annabel is one of five and she’s smack dab in the middle: boy, girl, girl, girl, boy. Recently, a friend said that she has an older sister and younger brother and as a middle child she struggled to find her place in her family. ![]()
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