Birthright...Does sibling order matter?

Ok, so the newest NY Times article that I just read was specifically about this. Author, Perri Klass, wrote about the destinction between siblings and if their birth order makes them who they are and how they stand out in the family. Ok, I totally get the cliche of the oldest kid setting a prime example and being the star student or athlete or specially talented, but seriously who can really say that that's true?
Growing up in a family of 7 and being the youngest of 5 this article really made me think. A LOT!
I guess you could say that my eldest brother has accomplished alot, but so have my other 4 siblings. Just in different ways. Klass went on to talk about studies from a Norweigan study that was published in 2007, saying that the eldest sibling's IQ was about three points higher than the rest of his/her younger siblings. I'm not saying I disagree with any Norweigan scientists, but from my own experiences I couldn't tell you who was smarter in my family.
The boys are the oldest and are both doctors like my father but from their experiences growing up, I couldn't tell you that this is how I knew they would turn out. Yes they were the oldest but they did some crazy things too. Even though they are both about 12 years older than me, from what I remember they never seemed to be the "apple of my parents' eye". But there are phases everyone goes through, and that's pretty much how it has always been.
My sisters however, who are about 8-10 years older than me were different. Yes, they had their times where they did crazy things, but I think because they were girls they held their composure a bit more than my brothers. Although they are not doctors, they still have very upstadning jobs working for publishing companies and universities. So it makes me wonder, because my brothers are the eldest in the family and have both gone on to become doctors, does that mean that they are smarter or more superior to my sisters? I dont think so. I do agree with the article in saying that even though you come from the same household, no two children are alike because each experiences there upbringing differently. This I can definatly relate to.

Its funny because looking at my brothers and sisters, the oldest boy and the youngest girl before me are the most alike and the youngest boy and the oldest girl are the most alike when it comes to personality, even though they're all pretty much different. I guess I'm a mix of both. I wonder why that is...

As for me, being the youngest and adopted I really couldn't tell you if I have the same drive as my brothers and sisters do genetically, but I really dont think that matters. I think it is the way you are brought up. The 5 of us were brought up all the same way and harbor all the same mannerisms but we use them in the ways we know best, which all are different. I don't think that this has to do with our birth order though.
The the article went on in saying, and this I do agree with, that the second child does not speak as early or is not as forthright as the first child. I know this because the first child is usually so excited that they have a brother or sister, that they do things for them. They can talk for them, and do things for them without the younger child asking so it sort of makes the younger child a bit delayed. Not in brain function (meaning the older child is smarter), but in developement. They might walk or talk later because someone else was doing it for them. My mom told me that my oldest brother did it for the second sibling, and I saw it when my niece and nephew were born.

When it comes to speaking later, that might be true for the second sibling but not for the fifth. Being the youngest in a house of 5 kids I needed to make sure people knew I was there. I'm not sure what age I started speaking but I know that when I started I made sure people heard me, and I've pretty much been the same way some 21 years later. Walking and talking were never a problem for me because I had so many siblings to show me and teach me.

So when it comes to Norweigan studies, I can't say that I know more, but I definately know from experience. The conclusion of the article that I can totally agree with is that even though we all grow up in the same family no two children have the same experience growing up. I think that this is the best conclusion because although we are all family, we are all completley different people.