Are the Oldest & Only Child Birth Orders Compatible?


Some people ask are the Oldest and Only child compatible?

The answer to this question seems simple if you really do not understand Birth Order, or if you think All Firstborns are alike. They are not.

All firstborns start as Only children. Their birth order is a combination of their parents’ birth orders.

Their dominant parent will impart on them their dominant birth order but in combination with the non-dominant parent’s birth order.

This means that all Only children have different flavors and are not alike.

Their home life will also determine if they are responsible little adults or spoiled children that got everything and controlled their parents.

The Only child becomes a firstborn when the second child is born. Now he loses the birth orders of the parents and starts to interact with his siblings. This gives him a Firstborn birth order.

Sounds simple. It is not.

We need to know the genders of these two children, and the number of years between them.

They may have  Double Birth orders.

Was there any sibling rivalry where the Firstborn was dethroned?

Did either of the siblings have medical or emotional problems.

All these factors go into finding the “Real” birth order.

The answer to the question is …. I do not have enough information.

Birth Order Theory is not as simple as Only, One, Two, Three and Four.

I am Dr. Robert Hurst author of Life’s Fingerprint: How Birth Order Affects Your Path Throughout Life. I have been an Orthodontist for over 50 years and have been observing my patients from childhood to adulthood and beyond. My patients call me Dr. Bob.