Are you a middle child? If so, it’s your day.
As you probably know, the Americans have a day for almost everything and today they celebrate National Middle Child Day. Two thoughts occur to me.
First, it is widely thought that birth order influences personality and this idea is discussed on the Day’s web site. But I’m not sure how much scientific evidence there is for this notion. Second, in the developed world, the two-child family is now the norm so there are fewer middle children than there were. In China, there has been a one-child policy and, in many developing countries, the size of families is falling rapidly.
I’m actually the eldest of three children, I have a younger sister – to whom I have sent best wishes for National Middle Child Day – and a younger brother.