There are four basic classifications of birth order: the oldest, the only, the middle, and the youngest. Each has its own set of advantages, as well as its own set of disadvantages (Leman, Birth Order 10).

First born children tend to be high achievers in whatever they do. Some traits customarily used to label first born children include reliable, conscientious, list maker, well organized (Leman, Birth Order 11),

Being last born isn't all fun and games. Youngest children often have feelings of insecurity or long periods of self-doubt (Leman, Birth Order 73). For example, a youngest child grows up being coddled one minute as a darling little baby, but the next minute he is being compared unfavorably with an older sibling (Leman, Birth Order 74). As a result of conflicting experiences, youngest children can be extremely self-reliant in some ways and insecure in others (Leman, Birth Order 79).

The problems of an only child are often the result of a child who has been sheltered from society by overprotective parents. Those who are well adjusted know from an early age that life is a mixture of good and bad. They understand that bad things simply happen once in awhile (Forer 21).

Some only children see themselves as the "target" child. This child also has a problem with the heliocentric theory. This child magnifies his or her importance in every situation and believes he or she is the one being singled out for unfair treatment. For example, if a teacher gives them an "F" on a grammar composition, it's because the teacher doesn't like the child, not because he did a poor job (Leman, Growing Up 197).

Middle children are often the hardest to classify because there are so many different variables. Personality and the number of years between older and younger siblings play an important part. In general, middle borns suffer from an identity crisis. Some typical qualities often associated with middle children include being negotiators, having the fewest pictures in the family photo album, independent, extreme loyalty to peer groups and many friends (Leman, Birth Order 73).

In many ways, the only child is like the first born child. An only child is a first born child who never loses his parents. A perfect description of the only child would include all the labels used to describe a first born child. However, preceding each word would be the prefix super (Leman, Birth Order 51). As a special type of first born, only children tend to be highly motivated, self confident and achievement orientated (Moore and Cox 19). Some misconceived stereotypes given to only children include spoiled, selfish, lazy, and conceited (Leman, Growing Up 185). Far from being any of those, only children are among the top achievers in every area of endeavor (Leman 186). For example, some of the more famous only children include Franklin D. Roosevelt (President), Leonardo da Vinci (artist) and Charles Lindbergh (pilot) (Forer 9).

An obvious condition of his ordinal position is that he is born to parents who are well experienced in the business of child rearing (Forer 124). It seems that the youngest children are less often subject to excessive demands from his parents for achievements. Since there is a relief of excessive pressure on the youngest child, they have been found in many cases to be more spontaneous, original and creative than children from earlier ordinal positions (Forer 124). Just because the later borns don't receive as much pressure as other siblings, doesn't mean they don't receive as much attention. The parents many times favor a family's last born child (Moore and Cox). Later borns fare better in life because they are the only member of the family to receive parental investment undiluted by the needs of a younger rival (Sulloway 305). This is especially true in a special case that psychologists have coined as the "quasi-only" child. This case appears when the last child in the family comes along a good five or more years after the others. He starts a whole new birth order level (Leman, Birth Order 15).

First borns are "first come" and they are "first served" by eager parents who want to do this job of parenting better than anyone has done before (Leman, Bi

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