Danny, Vincent, and Poppy have a complex sibling relationship. Do you think birth order matters in siblings? Did it matter to Danny, Vincent, and Poppy?
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Yes I believe birth order matters in siblings. Danny was #1 son, smart good looking everyone loved him. Vincent the middle child who many thought was odd. Was it just too hard for him to be like Danny? Poppy the youngest, the baby, and the only girl. She was always thought of as beautiful. I have often heard of the problem some middle children have? They are not the oldest, not the youngest, just the middle child!
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The birth order very much matters in a sibling relationship. I speak from experience as the oldest of 4 children. We all had our very individual personalities, much of which developed as a result of where we stood in the order. I could go on and on with many personal examples from my childhood. But I think parents learn from the first child and tend to treat each child a little different as their parental experience broadens.
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I think it does. Usually the first child gets the most attention, so any sibling down the line often gets less.
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Yes I believe it does at times and other times maybe not so much. Danny was viewed as the âgolden childâ âalways being admired and more charismatic. I think his position may have placed expectations on him to perhaps watch over his siblings. Vincent is the outsider or felt he was. More introverted and strained relationships with family. May have felt overlooked or misunderstood. Poppy was such a free spirit and being the baby was protected and received affection.
I think their personalities are much more important. The sibling order theory has been hashed to death. I think we should be looking at the introvert/extrovert more.
I once read that each child is born into a different family. The first of the six children born to my parents was a new experience; they were young. The second child had an older brother and the elder had a younger sib who needed closer attention. On and on. As the youngest of the six kids, my family nature and nurture differed from all the others because I grew up in an âestablishedâ family. Birth order is only a factor when one considers the family unit that pre-existed. I agree with Joyce that emerging personalities are far more important.
I think that birth order matters. The oldest child forges the way for the younger sibs, and they learn from the oldest. Initially, the firstborn is coddled until the second child comes along and requires the parents -especially the motherâs attention while the oldest learns to be more independent.
I think birth order matters a lot. I donât think this would have happened the way it did had Danny not been the first-born and Vincent the 2nd. The dynamic would have been different. Their relationship would have been so different and Danny may not have been so angry at Vincent.
I think the birth order absolutely matters, I see examples of it within my self and my own family all the time. I didnât get the impression that it mattered that much to the siblings, or perhaps that they were aware of it, given how young they were. Though it broke my heart as Poppy was dying when she said that her last moments spent with her brothers was of them fighting each other. Also, I heard someone say how when someone is dying, weâre too concerned about making them comfortable or getting them help, but we should concentrate on really being present in that last moment with them instead and I felt like screaming at Danny and Vincent to just stay with Poppy and hold her as she died instead of fighting each other.
Absolutely birth order matters, but I also think it depends on the make up of the group, Iâm one of four girls and mercy do we fit the sibling birth order molds. However, I think Poppy being the only girl and the youngest provided a mix relationship. She was trying to breakout of the mold of the time period and was really gutsy. I think the youngest child can often go different ways. The two boys definitely held true to the birth order stereotypes. Danny the oldest, loved by all, leader, looked up to by everyone and Vincent trying to be his own person in the shadow of that.
Of course birth order matters (many studies have shown this). But, there are many factors to be
considered. For instance, my parents had three children: one (male) born in 1931âŚduring the
Great Depression, one (female) born in 1944âŚduring WWII, and one (female) born in 1953. Our
father died in 1956. According to research studies, we all grew up as âonlyâ children (birth separated by more than 5 years).
Birth order does play a role in the development of the child, but very often it is not so much the order, but more how each is treated by the parents, teachers. For example do these people continually compare the children, expecting one to be like the other. Why canât you be as smart. or run as fast? They forget each child has an individual personality. It is the comparing, more then the birth order that seems to cause problems.
Absolutely â I have seen it in my family. The baby is always thought about as special, the middle child as a bit different and the oldest is the leader. It is certainly reflected in Danny, Vincent and Poppy!
Yes birth order has a lot to do with how you are raised, how you relate to your siblings and how you are treated by both your parents and the world in general. Regardless of all else, there are certain traits optimized by both birth order and gender. I think it mattered to all three children, in different ways.