Lastborns are the baby of the family. They’re coddled, mischievous and get away with a lot more.
If you’re the last child in your family, you may be accused of being childish and reckless.
However, there may be many more similarities that lastborns share with each other. Here are 5 facts about lastborns that are backed up by science.
5 Facts About Lastborns You May Not Know
They Are The Life of the Party
Studies show that the youngest child is more sociable, extraverted and generally more fun to be around.
Lastborns may be more likely to have more friends and romantic partners. They are also the comedians of the family, and will often use humour to gain the approval and affection of their parents.
The youngest child is also an unapologetic attention-seeker. Their love of attention is both their best trait and their Achilles’ heel.
If you want to get a social event going, all you need to do is invite some lastborns, they’ll liven things up in no time.
Their free-spirited nature is simply magnetic. But once they’re there, good luck getting a word in edgewise.
They may just end up stealing the spotlight all for themselves.
They Are Likely to be More Creative
Creativity flows through the blood of the lastborn.
Some studies suggest that birth order has a significant impact on vocational interest and career choices.
The youngest child for instance is more likely to be attracted to creative professions like art, writing, or music.
One theory that attempts to explain this pattern is that lastborns tend less parental expectation imposed upon them.
In the same vein, lastborns are also more likely to be risk-takers.
They may be more drawn to starting their own business or to be self-employed than work a conventional job.
They Are More Likely to be Manipulative
Because they tend to get their way most of the time growing up, lastborns tend to be “charmers”.
They can sweet-talk their way out of a bad situation if they get the chance.
But this also means that they are exceptional communicators. Many lastborns are talkative, expressive and good conversationalists and this makes them easy to talk to.
They may also have strong powers of persuasion, which is not surprising when you think about how much trouble lastborns often get up to as children.
A silver tongue is a powerful weapon to have in your arsenal when you need to bamboozle your caretakers.
Either when asking for something particularly expensive or eluding punishment.
They Are Likely to be More Rebellious
While firstborns enjoy following the rules, lastborns enjoy breaking them. According to some studies, the youngest child is more open to new experiences.
You could say there were born with a mischievous streak. They are adventurous, curious, and unconventional.
If you’re a lastborn you’re likely to be a trailblazer, a trendsetter, a daredevil or all of the above.
However, being rebellious doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a delinquent or troublemaker, but in the cookie-cutter world of firstborns, you might as well be.
They are Less Likely to Value Conventional Education
Most lastborns tend to forego the college experience right after graduating high school.
This is most probably due to less parental pressure and more freedom to make important life decisions.
Lastborns also tend to value experiential wisdom gleaned from life experiences and mistakes more than they value a traditional brick-and-mortar education.
However, they make up for not being book-smart by being street-smart, being full of practical knowledge that can prove useful in the real world.
However, this does not mean you can’t do your very best as a parent to support their education.
Last, But Definitely Not Least
If none of these qualities apply to you, then it’s probably not a surprise.
There are so many things that can affect your personality, and many of these studies are broad generalizations.
While many people can relate to these traits, there are also people who elude conventional scientific findings.
But this does not invalidate you as a lastborn at all.
People make fun of the youngest child for being irresponsible, unpredictable and less smart.
But there are many perks to being a lastborn, all you have to do is embrace them.
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