Firstborns . . .

I am the guinea pig of my family. Born the oldest of 3 girls, I was the "practice child" in many ways. Now, honestly, I'm not complaining about that at all. I'm alive and I turned out ok. And I'm not alone . . . Every family has a guinea pig. The adjustment to parenting is a huge one (so I've been told) and it's only to be expected that parents will learn from their mistakes and treat later children differently. (And just b/c I am a first born doesn't mean that I have any expectations of raising my first born perfectly.) Whenever I felt like I was being held to different standard (to be fair, this was sometimes just my own incorrect perception of the situation), Dad was usually the one I would plead with . . . he's an oldest child, too.

All that being said, I always feel very vindicated when I read those articles on birth order analysis. They usually have the the oldest child pinned; from our ability (and often desire) to entertain ourselves to our strong tendency to be perfectionists, I can usually check off every point and laugh at how stereotypical I am.

Last week, Focus on the Family did a short series with author Kevin Leman that you can listen to here and here. It was great to hear the topic of birth order from a biblical perspective and how God uses those natural tendancies in spouses to strengthen a marriage. It is also helpful, speaking as an oldest here, for parents who AREN'T oldest childen to hear as they raise their first borns. The strongest characteristics of a oldest (driven to suceed, very detail oriented and organized) can also be the biggest pitfalls (perfectionist attitude and critical of others, just for starters) if left unaddressed. They are just under 30 min each and very fun to listen to as the author is a youngest child and quite the class clown =)