Happy Middle Children's Day

Dear Middle Child,

From one middle child to another , I wish you a happy Middle Children's Day. Today is your special day! Today is a day to celebrate your unique personality which is in part due to your place in the family as middle child.

When your oldest sibling was born it was an extra special event for your parents. Their first child. Their first ten little baby fingers and ten little baby toes. Their first, "Oh look, he's smiling!" Everything he did was a momentous occasion, fully documented with tons of pictures, of which outnumber your pictures three to one.

When the youngest sibling was born, she dethroned you as baby of the family. Your parents treated her extra special because she was, "the baby of the family". Whenever she cried, "Mommy, Billy hit me!" they believed her. Whenever she wanted a new pair of shoes, they bought her three.

As a child, and maybe as an adult, you may have felt left out, alone, even unloved. You may have been compared to your older sibling and their accomplishments. You may have felt unappreciated as your parents doted over your younger sibling.

Well, here's the good news, first, your parents didn't mean to make you feel that way. It's a natural consequence of having more than one child. It takes a special effort on a parent's part to show each child that they are valued just as much as the others. But it can be done.

Secondly, you are one awesome human being because of the traits you developed as the middle child. You are adaptable, flexible. You make friends easily because many times you've had to turn to people outside the family unit to get the attention you desired, but you're perfectly happy to be alone too. You are easy going. You're a peacemaker. A mediator. You read people well because you are an observer, you've had lots of time to sit back and watch the people around you. You are able to keep secrets. And you get along well with others. You're independent, imaginative, sometimes competitive. You're creative. You would do well in writing, music, or art. And you are not a spoiled brat! I'd say you're pretty darn wonderful!

What's the best part of an Oreo cookie or a club sandwich? Why the middle of course! Go out today and do something wild and crazy and fun, 'cause you're the middle child and you're worth it! Happy Middle Children's Day!

Note: A "true middle child" is the middle child in a family of three children. In a family of more than three children all of the children who are not the oldest or youngest are considered middle children and the dynamics change a bit as they align themselves with each other (I have 2 older sisters and 2 younger brothers and so technically we have 3 middle children but I claim full rights to true middle-childship). The dynamics also change depending on the sex of each child.

I gathered information from about 20 sites. Here are a couple that might help you learn more about Middle Child Syndrome. www.drspock.com and www.bellaonline.com

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