I have said a lot of times before this but I am the Ultimate Middle Child. Why, you ask?
I have 4 sisters and I am the 3rd one, smack in the middle with two sisters on each side, so that kind of multiplies my Middle Child-ness by double and gives me bragging rights to be the said Ultimate Middle Child forevermore.
As sad as that was, being a middle child sucks, and from one middle child to another, here are some struggles which I am sure all middle children like us go through.
1) No one notices you. Or at least you think so. This belief has been embedded in your heads ever since you were a kid and you had to fight extra hard for your parents attention because you were constantly stuck between two perfect siblings. This later goes on to be your default setting, as you start believing that nobody is actually paying attention to you. Alternatively, this also means you're a great listener.
2) You've tried to stand out from your siblings your whole life. Be it the choice of clothes or your career, it HAS to be different from your siblings.
3) You have to be the 'negotiator' in all arguments. Since you're the middle kid, you're automatically the middle man (or woman!) in all arguments between your siblings since you're 'supposed' to have an impartial view of them all as you're both and older and a younger kid. Yeah, it's messed up.
4) You have all the responsibilities that come with being an older child. You have to set a good example for your younger siblings, you have to make sure they get all the good stuff even if it means that you get nothing, because technically you're an older kid too.
5) You have all the restrictions that come with being a younger sibling too. Hand-me-downs, oft quoted examples of greatness of older siblings, and general not-being-taken-seriously-ness because technically you're the younger sibling too. It's a lose-lose situation for you.
6) You're a pro at sharing everything, which might seem like a non-struggle to most people but it is a difficult cross to bear. All your life you know you have to be the person who will share stuff. Your older sibling ha shad the privilege of being the only kid for a bit of time so they have had the luxury of having things to themselves. Your younger sibling would most definitely not have had anything denied to them, as they're the youngest. Which leaves you, who always thinks that you HAVE to share whatever you've got.
7) Sometimes your parents forget you exist. This might seem like a gross exaggeration, and a little unfair on parents all over the world, but in a way they're not to be blamed for this too. You're so adept at thinking nobody notices you that sometimes they overlook you because of said not noticeable-ness.
8) Nobody believes in the Middle Child Syndrome, which is totes real. Older siblings have the respect of all as they are the ones setting examples for us lower rung siblings, and the younger siblings are universally loved and though of as doers of nothing wrong ever. Which leaves us middle kids screaming into nothingness and manifestation of the Middle Child Syndrome.
All said and done, while being the middle child might not be the best thing ever, it is not so bad after all, Stephanie Tanner was the best part of Full House, after Uncle Jesse's hair. Not having the attention of everybody on you at all times is pretty cool after all, and plus you know in your little middle child heart that you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!
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