The theory of birth order and the impact it has on our children is an interesting thing to consider. I believe it is something to consider regarding piano study as well.

Two different points of view

These are the two articles I refered to on the podcast:Parents.com article “How Birth Order Affects Your Child’s Personality and Behavior”PsychologyToday.com article “Is Birth Order a Myth?”The idea of birth order is simply a theory, it is not a definitive statement of what to expect from your child depending on their placement in your family.More important than the order that your children are born in, your parenting style and your family dynamic will have a greater impact on their personality and their behavior and their success.

My experiences with my own children

My husband and I are blessed with four wonderful children.Justin, our oldest, fits the first-born profile with his definite sense of right and wrong, he takes charge but only when he sees the need. He’s not bossy like first-borns tend to be but he doesn’t mince words.Keri is our oldest daughter and, in my opinion, fits the first-born mold more so than the middle child mold. She is more structured and cautious. She can be bossy and controlling – but that’s only because her ideas are better than yours! LOLAustin is absolutely the middle child. He is a generous people pleaser with a large social circle. He would give a stranger the shirt off his back and the money in his wallet even if that meant having to skip his next meal because he gave away his money.Tracy is our youngest. I will admit that we definitely treat her like the baby of the family, not only because of where she is in the line but also because of her heart defect and other health issues. She doesn’t fit many of the items on the Parents.com list for last born children but she is a bit self-centered and quick-witted…..maybe that’s because she’s 15. (??) As far as piano goes….Justin fired me as his piano teacher when he was in 7th grade. He then picked up guitar and hasn’t stopped playing and singing and writing songs since.Keri continued piano lessons with me through high school. She loved to play melodies by ear with her right hand only. It was a struggle for her to get over the hump of playing with both hands together. She was able to use her piano skills to excel in band playing the flute and to help her classmates with vocal warm-ups in choir at school and used her vocal skills to earn a scholarship in the choir at her university.