According to Needleman (2005) ordinal position “plays a large role in determining the relationships between a child and his siblings….sibling relationships help explain why children in one family tend to be so different from one another. They differ from each other in terms of their personalities, talents and even troubles….some of it can be chalked up to temperament and genetics, but to a large extent the differences arise because children who grow up under the same roof actually experience very different family”
A firstborn can be pampered and spoiled for the mean time as long as there is still no sibling to take his place, but if there is a new member in the family, the firstborn mat feel neglected while the latter born is spoiled and pampered at the same time.
Most of the claims is said to have not been supported by scientific research and many of the characteristics is believed to be associated with different birth positions and thus appear to contradict each other. Among the other theories with regards to birth order, is also said to influence as well the IQ intelligence quotient of a person.
According to Sir Francis Galton Most of the firstborns are likely to be achievers than the later born. Some of the reasons that he offered on why birth order might affect eminence is because the firstborns are more to have financial resources to continue their education. Firstborns are treated more as companions by their parents. They would also get more attention and better nourishment in such families with limited financial resources (Kristensen, 2007).