#5 Pro: You Have Less Responsibility
You’re the baby and that means there’s an assumption placed on you that
you can’t do anything but, better yet, you don’t need to do anything! Your disappoints have no reverberation on your older siblings – it’s almost like
they fully expect you to be reckless.
And granted, this has its ups. It means that when you’re young you can
do what to want because no one expects you to be the wiser. You don’t have to
chase around snotty-nosed younger brothers or sisters and stop them from doing
wrong. Instead, you ARE that snotty-nosed younger brother or sister and you can
ride that carefree attitude right into 1st grade!
Con: You Are
Underestimated
The bad thing is, this role placed upon you doesn’t go away. And so your
decision-making and general abilities are underestimated all the way into
adolescence. Basically, your opinion doesn’t count because you haven’t had to
work for it. You may be the wiser and most well adjusted but no one sees it
like that. Your older siblings could very well be nutjobs but their vote will always count
twice as much as yours and that’s just natural law.
Your family creates that role for you so what can you do but fit it!
#4 Pro: You Generally
Don’t Give A _____
When you’re the youngest, failure is familiar to you. You’re older
brothers and sisters have already been there, done that and basically see you
as some kind of pariah that poses a threat to their delicately structured
social scene. From being ‘the baby’ to the underachiever at school, there’s an
unwritten but generally accepted label on your head that reads ‘uncool’. Your
older siblings forever see you as somewhat of an enigma and, as a result of
being constantly disappointed, you’re expectations take a rather rapid plummet.
This sounds all rather damning, but I think this is a good thing, because by
the time you’re a teen, you really couldn’t care less. Peer pressure is all of
a sudden a thing of the past and all your previous concerns of ‘fitting in’
seem rather juvenile.
You learn early on that disappointments are a natural part of
life and so when you get to school and are let down by your friends it doesn’t
sting as much. If you don’t crumble under the pressure of expectation, you’ve
grown a pretty impenetrable thick skin.
Con: You’re
Less Aggressive and More Passive
On the flipside of that, you take things as they come – the good, the
bad and the ugly – even if they are underserved. You can be more accepting of
circumstance and less willing to stand up for yourself. All those years of
being talked down to and put in your place can lead to a high tolerance.
Arguments that you would otherwise fight for feel altogether pointless in the
grand scheme of things. You’ve got nerve but it rarely presents itself.
While not a victim of peer pressure, there is a certain amount of
resignation you take to authority even if you know they’re stupid (and more
often than not, you’ll think they’re stupid). Hey, that boss of yours might
be a dick but standing up to him isn’t in your rulebook.
#3 Pro: You
Have the Best Sense of Humour / Are the Life of the Party
If you're the youngest, your parents are probably
already confident in their caretaking abilities, and therefore are more lenient
in their discipline. They don’t pay attention to your every move or milestone
as they did with your older siblings and so you learn to charm the crowd
through humour.
From witnessing the tears, tantrums (throwing some
too) and living with sibling drama, you find funny in the absurd – the thrills,
the spills, it’s all hilarious to you. More often than not, your older
siblings take themselves way to seriously and it’s your job to knock them off
their pedestals.
There’s no use trying to surpass their achievements
and so you have to carve your own path. Generally your faults are on display
for elders to see and so your best weapon to
combat their judgments is by being sarcastic and sardonic.
Con: No One
Takes You Seriously
This means you’re a clown and everything that comes out of your mouth
will be taken with a grain of salt. After all, your family is a fountain of
wisdom and can tell you what to do (Beware the patronizing hand on the
shoulder).
You’re probably the best people-person but they don’t know that and so
it’s kind to humour them.
#2 Pro: You’re
the Most Creative and Observant
From being on the sideline all your life, you’re going to identify with
the underdog. You’ve had years of spectating and learning and, usually, this
has rewarded you in being a good judge of character - you can detect bullshit
from a mile away.
You fight for the little guy and probably champion egalitarian causes
because you’re the most creative. You want to inspire and, as a result of
being teased, tend to back those who are perceived as “powerless”. While your elders are ambitious and follow family traction, you’re in
the vein of following artistic pursuits.
Con: You’re Less
Confident
When you’ve outgrown childhood, self-doubt creeps in the back of your
mind because you’ve been living in the shadow of your siblings. Your decisions up until now have largely been influenced by their successes
and failures and now you’re all alone and your confidence can take a beating.
To prove to yourself you have what it
takes you’re inclined to go against the grain of what came before you. Throw
yourself in the deep end and see if you come up breathing.
#1 Pro: You
Don't Have to Babysit your Younger Siblings.
Con: You
Have to Babysit your Nieces and Nephews.
Enough said.
And now for a flashback:
I recently found this image in an old shoebox of school stuff. It
dates back to when I was in Grade 2 and my class was learning about dinosaurs.
As you can see, I was a Picasso-in-the-making and tried to depict some
sort of human-dinosaur hybrid.
The note reads:
I am a
Sameosaurus. I am a friend to other dinasaurs. I watch TV all day. Some times I
go out to have a drink at nightime. Some times I am late for school in the
morning.
It would seem not much has changed.
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