Poll: Where do you fall in the birth order?

[MelAR05]

Poll coming!

 

I am curious as to whether birth order has any impact on your choice to homeschool. For example, are middleborns more likely to homeschool? Or does it even matter?

 

I myself am a firstborn. :)

[eternalknot]

I'm neither the eldest, nor the youngest, so I voted middle.

 

I'm from a large family, though, and am an older-middle kid - closer in age to the eldest than I am to our middle third.

[Sharon H in IL]

I'm the only girl in the middle of two boys.

 

Everyone always thought I was the oldest when we were kids.

 

According to Kevin Leman's theory, that makes me a firstborn female. So in many ways I function in the family as a firstborn: responsible, nagger/leader, achiever.

[Samiam]

I was the oldest in my family household growing up, but in reality, DNA-wise, I am an only child, if that makes sense at all :)

[radiobrain]

I am the youngest of my father's kids, the third of my mother's.

 

She had my half sister when I was 15 years old.

 

So I voted other.

 

I lived most of my life as the youngest, and my uncles started having kids late, so all the other cousins are around 15 years younger than me.

[FaithManor]

The middle. A brother in front, 4 years older, and a sister in back who is 13 years younger.

 

Dh is the youngest...his sister is 6 years older than he and his brother is 5 years older.

 

Faith

[Imprimis]

I'm the "baby" of four :001_smile:

[Lovedtodeath]

DH and I are both babies. :)

[Carrie12345]

Dh and I are both first borns.

[Running the race]

Interesting. I am first born. I wonder if more first borns homeschool, or they are more likely to answer polls?

[Paula in PA]

DH and I are both babies. :)

 

:D This is us, too. Dh fits the standard description better than I do, though.

[8circles]

I voted middle but I'm also youngest female so I'm in many ways a youngest also.

[Dobela]

I am oldest child, and on both sides of the family the oldest grandchild. I used to pretend that I had a long lost older sibling somewhere because I was so tired of being the oldest and the first to do everything.

[tomandlorih]

I'm a last of three, DH is First of three.

 

DH's family is all PS and we are the only with children right now (but I would bet the other 2 will NOT homeschool)

 

My Brother(firstborn) was entirely PS'd as was his wife(also firstborn of three) and they homeschool their three.

 

My sister (middleborn and PS'd through 11th grade and homeschooled for the last year.. btw.. do not ever do that to a child who has been through so many years with the same kids and then not allowed to do senior year and graduate with them.) She does NOT homeschool her 2.

 

Hope this helps with your research!! It has been so interesting to read the responses so far..

 

Lori.

[Mommy22alyns]

I'm a firstborn, but functionally an only as my sister is 9 years younger.

 

DH is a firstborn too.

Edited July 3, 2011 by Mommy22alyns

[Murmer]

I am a second born of a firstborn set of twins...so kind of a mix.

[ChristusG]

Very interesting that there's more first borns. I'm a first born, as well as DH.

[snickelfritz]

I am a middle child and voted that way. However, there are 8 and 12 years between me and my older siblings. 15 months between me and younger. So, I have many oldest sibling characteristics.

[LaxMom]

I'm an only, my husband is an oldest (of 3). We are the only ones who have children, so...

[Veritaserum]

I'm third of six. Dh is first of four. I'm not sure our birth order has anything to do with why we homeschool. :)

[JudyJudyJudy]

I'm #7 of 7.

 

Dh is the youngest of two on his mother's side and the oldest of two on his father's side.

[DarlaS]

I'm the only girl in the middle of two boys.

 

Everyone always thought I was the oldest when we were kids.

 

According to Kevin Leman's theory, that makes me a firstborn female. So in many ways I function in the family as a firstborn: responsible, nagger/leader, achiever.

 

Sounds a bit like my only dd. The nagger/leader part anyway. :tongue_smilie:

 

I am the youngest in my family. :001_smile:

[Catherine]

Ditto.

[Amy in NH]

I was the oldest in my family household growing up, but in reality, DNA-wise, I am an only child, if that makes sense at all :)

 

I don't think the DNA thing has anything to do with it. :001_smile:

[Parrothead]

Oldest of two.

[Mrs Mungo]

I'm the oldest of four. Personality wise? It goes like this for us: oldest, middle, youngest, only.

 

My dh is technically the youngest, but his sister is 9 years older than him and moved in with their dad when she was 13. So, he has an only child personality.

[Elizabeth in MN]

I am the only child my parents had, the oldest of five kids (blended family) and the oldest of two (my Dad had a son by my stepmother).

[HeathenMom]

i'm the eldest of 1 brother

3 half-sisters

1 half-brother

1 step-sister

 

so that's the eldest of 6 (all but my real brother are my kid's age and younger. it's so strange.)

[clarkacademy]

I am my fathers only, my mothers bio baby but she married and adopted two more when I was almost grown.

[Mrs Mungo]

I wonder what this poll says?

 

Are oldest children more likely to homeschool? More likely to be attracted to TWTM? More likely to answer polls? More likely to post on this particular board?

 

I *know* we have a disproportionate number female "NT" personality types than the general population. I wonder if that goes hand in hand with the large number of oldest children here.

[nukeswife]

Dh and I are both first borns.

 

Same here

[Plaid Dad]

I'm #2 of 2, but there is a large age gap - 13 years - between me and #1.

[Jen in PA]

I am the oldest of 6, but we were raised as two sets of 3 (my mom had 2 with my dad, then remarried and had one with my stepdad; dad remarried and had 3 more). All girls, and we were born over a thirteen year span. Dh is the oldest of 3, all three born in a 22 month span. Even though we are both firstborns, we find that it was a very different experience.

[Impish]

I picked other.

 

My mother's eldest, but when she married my Dad, he had a son that's a year older than I. I have younger brothers as well, only girl.

[Miss Marple]

These statistics are holding out pretty close to an earlier poll in 2008:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41507&highlight=Poll

 

We've had a lot of new folks join us since the first poll and it's interesting to see similar results three years later.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'm 2nd to last out of 6. There is a large gap between my older siblings and myself, so in some ways, I am like an oldest and some ways (Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!) I am like a middle child.

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

I'm second, but I have a lot of firstborn traits.

[Janie Grace]

These poll results are just cracking me up! We firstborns just need a lot of people to boss around, I guess. If we sent them to school, we couldn't tell them what to do all day. ;)

[TinaBlue]

I'm the firstborn of three, DH is the last of three.

[Mrs Mungo]

These poll results are just cracking me up! We firstborns just need a lot of people to boss around, I guess. If we sent them to school, we couldn't tell them what to do all day. ;)

 

And we have high standards. And we'd have to be the room mom. And we'd have to have regular conferences with the teacher. And we wouldn't approve of the reading list. And, and, and...

[Janie Grace]

And we have high standards. And we'd have to be the room mom. And we'd have to have regular conferences with the teacher. And we wouldn't approve of the reading list. And, and, and...

 

SO TRUE! :lol:

[Ellie]

It might help some to have a definition of birth order.

 

Dr. Kevin Lehman, who wrote the Birth Order Book, says that a first born is...the first born. :D But it there are two children in a family, a boy and a girl, both are first-borns, because one is the first-born boy, the other is the first-born girl. So if there were a boy, then a girl, then another girl, the first girl is a first-born, not a middle child. See?

 

If there are four or five years between siblings, the next younger dc counts as a first born, even if that dc is the same gender as the older dc.

 

It's pretty clear what the baby of the family is...unless there is a 4- or 5-year difference between the baby and the next oldest child, in which case...he's a first born. Clear as mud? :D

 

In large families, birth order is repeated all over the place, lol.

 

Mr. Ellie is younger of two sons, but he is a first born because his brother is five years older.

 

I have three younger brothers; two of them count as first borns, because the oldest is five years younger than I, and the baby is at least 10 years younger than the second brother.

Edited July 3, 2011 by Ellie

[Peela]

Dh and I are both firstborns and it shows! We both try to boss each other around!

[Heather in AL]

Another firstborn here. Dh is first, too.

 

This is an interesting poll. Somehow I missed the one from a few years ago.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I voted other because I am the first born of my mother, but the third born of my father. I have 3 younger sisters, and the middle of those homeschools her kids.

[Rhonda in TX]

I wasn't sure how to vote. I'm 3rd of 4. However, there's a 9 year gap between me and #2, so I've heard I'm kind of the oldest as well.

[MamaT]

I am the youngest of three, but my sisters are 9 and 12 years older than me, so according to Ms. Ellie's post I am a firstborn.

[Punks in Ontario]

Third and youngest.

[DarlaS]

These statistics are holding out pretty close to an earlier poll in 2008:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41507&highlight=Poll

 

We've had a lot of new folks join us since the first poll and it's interesting to see similar results three years later.

 

Interesting. Lots of firsts and lasts in particular.

[Ravin]

I'm firstborn but not the oldest because my sister who is 1 year older than me joined our family when I was 12 and she was 13. We were in the same grade, never in the same social circles though.

 

But I put firstborn on the poll.