Being a Middle Child: A Blessing or a Curse

Hey guys! This is my first piece for the Luna Magazine so I guess this calls for a personal subject… being a middle child.

I guess some could think that there is nothing worse than being a middle child. You are constantly overlooked, but you need to be there to provide some sort of stability. Walking downstairs thinking, who’s going to be the favourites today, the oldest or youngest? 

Well I’d like to say being a middle child or second youngest is just a perspective. Let’s talk about perspective through the ages. 

So as a young child I didn’t really face any challenges being a middle child, my older brother was in my school when I moved up, he was my protector. Then when he left my little sister came up, it was my turn to step up! 

So in theory I sort of always felt like the youngest child until the youngest one became my responsibility. 

In high school, my brother wasn’t at the same school as me so it was time to pave my own way. Of course not, everyone knew my brother so now I was known as his little sister. Not a bad first start to say everyone was scared of him so being a fat kid in boy clothes was a breeze for me. As school went on I kind of forged my own legacy. I was different from the rest of my siblings. I was academically adept and obviously teachers like that. I was polite, but still had my own opinion. I thought outside the box, that was one of my strongest skills.

Sixth form, that was a blur (Covid-19 season). Then university…

I was the first out of my siblings and parents. Immediately, imposter syndrome! It felt like I had no older siblings to teach me the ways of uni life or how to make friends. In effect I was like an only child but mommy and daddy weren’t paying for my tuition so I clearly wasn’t reaping the benefits of an only child. 

Adult life, now where do I start? This is when I’d say the pressure of the middle child starts to hit. I am the responsible one all of a sudden because the oldest has had enough of being the lookout. The youngest has obviously been babied too much to step up so here I am steering the ship. Technically I’m not steering the ship with them on it’s just a cardboard front that I’m driving because as experience has shown I am not selfless enough, caring enough, and rich enough to have the oldest’s responsibility.

So in the end, being the middle child doesn’t have to be a bad thing, take it with a pinch of salt (I’m autistic and use idioms woohoo!). In other words, it’s all about perspective and how you look at things from different angles and through others’ lenses. My life so far has been a rollercoaster and sure it could’ve been a whole lot different being the youngest but being a middle child has not made it worse, it has just given me a different toolkit compared to my siblings’! 

I hope this has made you realise you haven’t drawn the short straw by being a middle child… like that was even an option anyway.

Until next time amigos.

Written by, Lacey Martin