1. Birth Order

2. Birth Order
Describe birth order and how it affects relationships with others Question whether or not birth order research matches your own unique personality

3. Stressed the importance of feelings of belonging
Alfred Adler
Stressed the importance of feelings of belonging
Provided family counseling
Worked with Freud- broke off- believed social and community aspect is equally as important as internal struggles with personality
No couch- two chairs- gave sense of equality
Felt Birth Order has an influence on style of life, with strengths and weaknesses

4. What is Birth order?
Birth order refers to the order in which you were born among your siblings. Many believe that the order in which you were born among brothers and sisters influences how you develop. Though birth order gives us clues about our behavior, it is not always accurate.

5. What if there are 5 years separating you from your sibling?
You can be characterized as an only child or first born sometimes having both only child and first born child characteristics.

6. Who do You Think You Are?
1. Manipulative, charming, blames others, shows off, people person, good salesperson, precocious.
2. Mediator, fewest pictures in the family photo album, avoids conflict, independent, extreme loyalty to the peer group, many friends
3. Perfectionist, reliable, list-maker, well- organized, critical, serious, scholarly

7. If you are most like number…
The Results
If you are most like number…
1. You may be the youngest child in the family.
2. You may be the middle child in the family.
3. You may be the first born child in the family.

8. What do you think?

9. Activity
Get into groups with your classmates depending on your birth order. Brainstorm together and come up with pros/cons of being in that position. Write down your ideas on the poster paper in each group. What are the parental expectations, rules, chores, discipline? Share with class.

10. Feelings of First Born Children
"Everyone depends on me." "I can't get away with anything." "I don't get to be a kid." "Why do I have to do it? Nobody else does anything around here." "How come I'm responsible for what my little brother or sister did?"

11. First Born Personality Traits Confident Determined Born leader
Organized
Eager to please
Likes to avoid trouble

12. First born: perfectionist, conscientious, list maker, well-organized, hard driving, natural leader, critical, serious, scholarly, logical. Doesn't like surprises; loves computers. Often compliant: has difficulty saying "No."

13. Famous first-born people: There have been more first-born US Presidents and Nobel Prize Winners than any other birth ranking. Famous first borns include Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Ted Turner, Winston Churchill, Jimmy Carter, Kate Middleton, J.K. Rowling, Saddam Hussein, Joseph Stalin, Mussolini, Che Guevara

14. Twenty-one out of twenty-three astronauts to go into space have been the oldest child.

15. In the entertainment profession, first borns tend to play macho leading roles. Famous first-born actors include Humphrey Bogart, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Bruce Willis. First-born actresses tend to become leading ladies. They prefer the strong roles and shy away from the damsels in distress. Bette Davis, Joan Collins, Oprah Winfrey and Vivien Leigh are all first borns.

16. Feelings of Middle Children
"I'm tired of being left out of things." "Nobody understands me!" "Nobody ever listens to me!" "I'm always in the shadow of my older sister/brother." "My youngest brother/sister gets away with everything."

17. Middle Personality Traits Roll with it Great negotiator
Lots of loyal friends

18. Middle Child: mediator, compromising, diplomatic, avoids conflict, independent, loyal to peers, many friends, secretive, unspoiled, has reasonable expectations

19. Famous middle children: Famous middle children include: George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Jack Kennedy, George Bush, Cindy Crawford, Tony Blair, Princess Diana, Martin Luther King, JFK, Madonna, Bill Gates, Britney Spears, Ricky Gervais

20. Feelings of Youngest Children
"I have to work hard to get other people to pay attention to me!" "Nobody takes me seriously." "Everyone treats me like I'm younger than I am."

21. Youngest
Personality Traits
Persistent
Great story teller
Affectionate

22. Youngest Child: manipulative, charming, blames others, attention seeker, tenacious, people person, natural salesperson, precocious, engaging, affectionate, loves surprises

23. Famous later borns and rebels: Joan of Arc, Charles Darwin, Gandhi, Leon Trotsky, Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope, George Michael, Ted Kennedy, Jerry Springer, Sir Laurence Olivier, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, Lucy Liu, and Billy Crystal

24. Feelings of Only Children
"I didn't do as well as I should have." "Sometimes I feel lonely." "I would be much happier with a brother or sister." "I'm not getting enough attention."

25. Pays attention to detail
Only Children
Personality Traits:
Confident
Pays attention to detail
Good in school
It’s MINE!
Overly critical

26. Only Child: little adult by age seven; very thorough and deliberate; high achiever; self-motivated; fearful; cautious; voracious reader; black and white thinker; uses "very" and "extremely" a lot; can't bear to fail; has very high expectations for self; more comfortable with people who are older or younger

27. Famous only children include: Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova, Natalie Portman, Alicia Keys, Al Pacino, Lance Armstrong, Daniel Radcliffe

28. Why?
On a separate sheet of paper that you will be turning in for credit, answer:
Do you agree or disagree with your characteristics of your birth order? Why?

29. Why Does this Matter?
Parents should attempt to help each child to see themselves as unique individuals and avoid comparisons with siblings or others.  

30. Extra Resources
(birth order personality video)