We all know the stereotypes about the eldest child, the youngest and the only child, but the middle child often seems to be left out, and not just from our conversations on birth order theory, but also seemingly from the family sometimes. In today's episode, we putting a spotlight on the middle children, including how their position in the family makes them so agreeable, why they often become the conflict mediators, and how this can build resentment later in life. We also discuss why middle children feel so unseen, but also are the most independent, how they behave in friendships, relationships, in the workplace, and what happens when there are multiple middle children, as well as how to reparent your middle child. Listen now! PREORDER MY BOOK: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/755841/person-in-progress-by-jemma-sbeg/ Follow Jemma on Instagram: @jemmasbeg Follow the podcast on Instagram: @thatpsychologypodcast For business: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hello, everybody.
Welcome back to the show.
Welcome back to the podcast.
New listeners, old listeners, wherever you are in the world, it is great to have you here back for another episode as we of course break down the psychology of Our twenties.
Thank you for joining us and thank you to begin to all of you for the support you have shown the announcement of my debut book, Person in Progress, which comes out in April 2025.
It has blown me away, truly, how many of you have pre ordered and sent me such lovely messages.
And if you want to be one of the first people to get your hands on a copy and read it, you can find the link in the episode description.
Even if you just want to check out the COVID it's all there.
I just couldn't start the episode without acknowledging the love and the generosity and all the kindness that you have shown me.
But this week we are not talking about the book or anything close to it.
I'm going to move on and dive into our topic today because, wow, all of you have wanted to hear about it for a while and you have been so patient with me as I kept promising it.
We're finally there.
We are going to be talking about the psychology of the middle child.
So late last year, I believe I did an episode on what it's like to be the eldest daughter.
And so many of you related, so many of you were like, yeah, I totally agree.
That is me to a T.
But another huge number of you also said, you know, what about us middle children?
What if I'm the middle child and the eldest daughter because, you know, I have an older brother or I have brothers, where do I sit?
Well, after months of requests, I finally get to give you the answers you're looking for.
What is middle child syndrome?