Double Birth Order
The Secret to Unlocking Birth Order Traits For Sibling Gaps & Combined Families
Is birth order identification as easy as 1-2-3? Unfortunately, it isn’t.
When I used traditional birth orders to try and understand my patients, it didn’t take long to realize that the behavior I was expecting did not always occur.
Some of my first-born or second-born patients acted like onlies. Something was either wrong, or the concept was flawed.
As I studied more closely, I discovered that these patients had MUCH older or younger brothers or sisters. That means that these widely spaced children were being raised as a type of only child because of the large age gaps.
It turns out that just because you were the first-born or second-born doesn’t automatically give you a set of predetermined personality characteristics. There are other factors that must be considered.
Introducing: Double Birth Order
When there is a space of 4 or more years between siblings or groups of siblings, the child gains an additional birth order we refer to as “Double Birth Order.” In other words, large spacing between groups of children or groups of children creates multiple families within a family.
Click here to read more about how you get a double birth order.
This concept is the Rosetta stone of understanding birth order theory, and it is why just your ordinal birth order, or number order of birth, is sometimes not your REAL birth order.
Without an understanding of Double Birth Orders, birth order theory has very poor reliability.
Double Birth Order Explained
With such a large gap in age, siblings rarely interacted with their older or younger siblings or their friends. For a child, the difference between a 4th grader and 8th grader is enormous.
How exactly does one get a Double Birth order, and how does it affect their birth order number?
If there are four years between siblings, both above them and below them, these people
carry the Only birth order along with their number of birth. The addition of the Only
birth order adds power to their own birth order and increases all its characteristics.
Why does this Double birth order phenomenon occur?
This child is raised like an Only child when the four-year separation occurs. They get a lot of parenting and gain lots of self-confidence, just like an Only child can be a miniature adult. These Double birth orders also have little fear of adults and authority figures.
These are the typical four birth orders that can pick up the Only to make them a Double Birth Order.
- 1/0 4yr 2/0 4yr 3/0 4yr 4/0
Answer the following questions to find out if you have a Double Birth Order:
- How many siblings are in your family? (include steps and halves that you lived with) LIST THEM
- What is your number? (count from oldest to you)
- Were you the FIRSTBORN and your next sibling was four or more years younger? If no, proceed to #4
If yes, add an ONLY # to your birth order and stop here.
- Did you have any siblings older than you with handicaps or died before you were 16 years old? If no, proceed to #6.
If yes, move yourself up 1 B/O# for each death or severe handicap.
- Did the death or handicap of the sibling older than you create a gap of 4 or more years between you and your next oldest sibling? If no, proceed to #12
If yes, proceed to #6
- Is the sibling who is immediately older than you, older by 4 or more years? If no, proceed to #7
If yes, add a Only # to your B/O# and proceed to #11
- Did you have 2 older siblings? Where was the 4 or more year gap between ages? If no, proceed to #8
If yes, Between 1&2? Add a #2 to your B/O# proceed to #12
If yes, Between 2 & me? Add a #1 to your B/O# proceed to #12
- Did you have 3 older siblings? Where was the 4 or more gap between ages? If no, proceed to #9
If yes, Between 1 & 2? Add a #3 to your B/O# proceed to #12
If yes, Between 2 & 3? Add a #2 to your B/O# proceed to #12
If yes, Between 3 & me? Add a #1 to your B/O# proceed to #12
- Did you have 4 older siblings? Where was the 4 or more year gap between ages? If no, proceed to #10
If yes, Between 1&2? Add a #4 to your B/O# proceed to #12
If yes, Between 2 & 3? Add a #3 to your B/O# proceed to #12
If yes, Between 3 & 4? Add a #2 to your B/O# proceed to #12
If yes, Between 4 & me? Add a #1 to your B/O# proceed to #12
- Did you have 5 older siblings? Where was the 4 or more year gap between ages? If no, proceed to #11
If yes, Between 1 & 2 Add a #4 to your B/O# proceed to #1
If yes, Between 2 & 3 Add a #3 to your B/O# proceed to ?
If yes, Between 3 & 4 Add a #2 to your B/O# proceed to ?
If yes, Between 4 & 5 add a #1 to your B/O# proceed to #1
If yes, Between 5 & me add a #2 to tour B/O# proceed to #12
- Do you have an immediate younger sibling no more than 3 years younger?
If no, proceed to #12
If yes, add a #1 to your B/O# (remove the ONLY number)
- Is your next younger sibling more than 4 years younger?
If no, nothing changes
If yes, replace any secondary # with an Only number to your Birth Order number.