8/10/2019 English Writing #1

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The role of a child according to their birth order is real. The oldest child is expected to support

the family when the parents are not by their children. Forer explains that when a sibling arrives, the

oldest child tries to suppress the view of himself as a child, and he struggles to be parental. The oldest

child is also expected to be more capable and more responsible than the younger children. Parents are

usually more lenient to the youngest child and sometimes they spoil him. Forer states that the later

children enjoy many advantages as a result of having more relaxed parents. Forer also states that the

youngest child tends to think that he is not concerned about being less able to do many things than

other people because there are always others around to take care of me.

I think Forers ideaapplies not only in a typical American family, but also in general family. In

general, the older children are responsible for their younger siblings. In a poor family, specifically, the

oldest child is prioritized by parents to get better education so the oldest child can soon take care of his

younger siblings. The youngest child, getting attention from his parents and older siblings tends to be

spoiled and may pout when they dont get what they want. The youngest child is viewed by people as

less capable than his older siblings. But there are some youngest children who feel they need to stand

out from their older siblings shadowso they can be responsible for their own. For them, to be assuccessful or even better, than their older siblings is their goal in life therefore they work harder to get

past their older siblings.

As in my family, Forers idea has some accuracy and inaccuracy. As an oldest child of two, I view

myself not only as a child of my family but also a role model for my little brother. Because of our age

gap, I view myself as a second parent for him, remind him whats wrong and right and give him advice. I

follow my role as a child in my family and also struggle to be parental. My younger brother also tends to

be dependent on others because all of the attention he gets. As for the oldest child capability, I do not

think myself as more capable than my younger brother. Instead, I learn much from my younger brother,

about computer, movies and music. My younger brother is even smarter than when I was his age.

It is interesting to read Forers idea about birth order and how it influences the role of children.

Although not all family follow Forers idea, but this idea nearly covers typical family in the world, not

only in American family. Oldest child tends to be parental and expected to be more capable than his

younger siblings. The youngest child is often spoiled and more dependent on others, either parents or

his older siblings.