As much as we can thank Freud and what was developed from his findings I think we also can learn a lot from the systemicists about childhood in the context of family dynamics.

Yes, absolutely! That is why I got interested in the systemic approach in first place. Although I am still at the very beginning of my training. But I don't think one could possibly be effective in working with families and groups if he or she is not familiar with systemics.

Birth order definitely influences one's personality especially when family dynamics are concerned. However, as you pointed out in your example, the dynamics are very specific depending on the certain family. Although some patterns might be extracted.

The fact that someone is first born has as many advantages as disadvantages, just as with the children who are in the middle or born last.

I absolutely agree. I just tried to present a common phenomenon which is close to me as I am a firstborn :) With my next article I will try to dive a little bit more into the subject.

Thanks for commenting, Erica!