As I think about what my family will look like with more than one child, I can’t help but realize that there are significant advantages to being born first. Most obvious is the fact that the parents are able to focus all their parenting skills on the only child. Theoretically, the second child will get half as much attention, and the third child will only get one-third, assuming time is spread equally among all children once they enter the world.
The firstborn may also have the added duties of helping watch the younger ones. This creates an opportunity to develop leadership skills and responsibility that non-firstborns may not have.
I suppose a disadvantage to being firstborn is that the eldest does not have the opportunity to learn from older siblings. Also, new parents may be more inexperienced with the firstborn (however, I think inexperienced parents are more likely to be overly careful, rather than less).
So it seems to me like the advantages of being born first outweigh any disadvantages. Not much to do about it though. This is just another example of opportunities provided to some that others will never receive.
(For further reading on this type of subject, I recommend the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.)
The firstborn may also have the added duties of helping watch the younger ones. This creates an opportunity to develop leadership skills and responsibility that non-firstborns may not have.
I suppose a disadvantage to being firstborn is that the eldest does not have the opportunity to learn from older siblings. Also, new parents may be more inexperienced with the firstborn (however, I think inexperienced parents are more likely to be overly careful, rather than less).
So it seems to me like the advantages of being born first outweigh any disadvantages. Not much to do about it though. This is just another example of opportunities provided to some that others will never receive.
(For further reading on this type of subject, I recommend the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.)