Numerous researches show that psychological characteristics of children are largely determined by their senior, junior, or medium position in the family. It turns out that birth order determines a certain way of siblings’ decision making. Sibling position is an individual behavior strategy of a child in relation to his brothers and/or sisters. Each position is inherent to a typical style of interaction and operation of the child.
Relationships with siblings play an important role in the context of personal development and decision making process. The closer their age, the more influence siblings have on each other. The younger children are likely to have carefree optimism and the willingness to take the sibling’s support. They may have some problems with self-discipline and difficulty in making decisions because there is always someone older and wiser taking care of their affairs (Boer & Dunn, 2013). They are the youngest in the family, they understand that the power is useless, and often produce the desired workarounds defiantly taking offense or trying to charm others.
The medium child may exhibit psychological characteristics of junior and senior children, or combinations thereof. Intermediate position stimulates medium children to develop their social skills. They are often able to negotiate and get along with different people because they were forced to learn to live in peace with the older and younger brothers and sisters having different characters. However, often the medium child, unless he is the only boy and the only girl in the family, forced to fight for the fact to be seen and get a role in the family. In the case all children are of the same sex, the medium child is in a losing position. He will receive the least attention and will be the most anxious and self-critical. These children are deprived of the authority of the older children and younger’s spontaneity.
As a rule, senior children play the role model for younger ones. Looking at their older brothers and sisters, children are learning how to communicate, to cooperate, to help others, and to empathize. They learn appropriate gender roles, family traditions, and values. Often, the oldest child in the family takes the basic care of the youngest. In many families, such positive aspects as care, protection, and support of seniors in relation to juniors persist throughout life.
However, there might be some negative points in relationships between siblings: the rivalry and belittling of the role of the older child after the birth of the younger one. Apparently, the birth of the second child makes a strong impact on seniors as parents have less time and energy for them. Their position in the course of these changes affects the degree of discord, strife, and rivalry between siblings. Nevertheless, if the father and mother are trying to assign the part of responsibilities for the care of newborns to older children, they establish relationships of the unity. Moreover, there are positive cases when the alliance of siblings leads to the great success. For example, identical twins Victoria Uttley and Lisette Vane Percy and their sister Georgie Cooper cooperated to initiate online entrepreneurship and succeed (Froud, 2015).
Their creative ‘Wintour is Coming’ slogan on T-shirts was sold out in a flash.
In conclusion, relationships between siblings play an integral part in their development and, in particular, in their decision making.
References
Boer, F., & Dunn, J. (2013). Children’s sibling relationships: Developmental and clinical issues. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.
Froud, O. (2015). Sister pact: Meet the siblings who’ve found success by keeping it in the family. DailyMail. Web.