Middle child Crisis

One night, as we were going back to Shah Alam, my friends and I had a deep conversation on this topic, the middle child crisis/syndrome. Quite serious huh. It's actually quite funny as they were all arguing with me, as I'm the only first child in the car.

So what is this middle child/syndrome?

Middle child is categorized as any child as long as they are not the first child or the last child in the family. So, it doesn't mean that you really have to be exact middle child to exert the middle child syndrome. The first child and last child will usually capture the attention of their parents, whereas the middle child is usually left alone and given not much attention. It is not the intention of the parents to ignore the middle child, but usually, it's because they have to give more attention and time to the younger siblings. So in the end, the middle child was left alone and unnoticed.

What are the effects of the Middle Child Crisis/Syndrome?

There are both positive and negative effects. The positive effects are that, they excel in most everything they do. This is mainly because they wanted to get back their parent's attention. A lot of successful people such as J.F.K, Donald Trump, Bill Gates and our very own Sheikh Muzaffar are middle children. In fact, middle children are much more independent, and are good mediators and negotiators. Middle children are also closer to their friends compared to their family.

But, there are also negative effects. Middle children also feel neglected and are more prone to emotional distress. Some of them feels like they have no one in this world. And most of them turn to their friends for support and become more connected to their friends. So choosing the right friends are important for them so that they won't indulge themselves in the wrong activities.

Why is it such a big deal?

Well according to Syafiq, this is really a big issue in Australia, as they realised that most of the problematic people (psychopaths, criminals etc) are actually middle children in their family. So recently, there are many studies and research being done to rectify the problems, and also to find the main cause so as to avoid or lessen the effects of this crisis.

One of the ways that are suggested to counter the middle child crisis is for parents to acknowledge the middle child's efforts and praise should be given every time they excel in their academics or in any activities they do, when they deserve it. By this way, they will feel appreciated.

How do these Middle Children actually feel?

This is according to my friends that are middle child and also according to my observation. They are independent, they solve problems on their own, sometimes even without their parents knowledge. They also are people that are successful in life, they know what they want in life, and are working hard to achieve it. And they hate all the first and last children!!! haha.. just kidding.

However, there are certain cases whereby this crisis is not applicable, for instance if the middle child is the only boy/girl in the family, of course he/she will be given sufficient attention. And this middle child crisis/syndrome are dependable on the individual, on how he/she sees it.

Well, most of what I write are my own point of view and also comes form what I read, which I know is not a lot, and also from the discussion that we had in the car. If there are any opposing views, I beg to differ.

To all my middle child friends, you guys have grown to become great people, people that exists in my life, and you guys are awesome. Don't be sad. Just remember that I'll always love you guys, and never to forget how much you all mean to me as friends.