Many of you first-borns and middle-borns reading this article are wondering, “What have last-borns got to complain about? They were and still are the families’ babies. More often than not, they are daddy’s and mum’s favorite. Aren’t they?” There no denying, last-borns enjoy a certain level of pampering and coddling. These wrappings of cotton wool have rained a bad reputation upon last-borns. It is time this sort of stigmatization came to an end. You’ll today learn some of the ways in which a last-born must pay the price of coming last.
Experience Unending Comparisons
Last-borns are bound to find an already set bar. As the last-born, nothing you do is new. Nothing attracts sparkling interest. Right from when you utter your first words to when you graduate with a first class honors. The entire family (you excluded) has already done that, been there. All you get is a “Well done sweetie!” Now, that is the soft part. The hard part sets in when you realize that you live in the shadows of your sibling(s).
As the last-born, you are expected to do everything better than your siblings did. Call it the “If so and so (your sibling) did it, you can do it better.” Even your hobbies are to a large extent not your own. You have to have one that supersedes your siblings’. Each of your actions and their related outcomes are weighted relative to your siblings’. Welcome to the world of constant comparisons.
Become the Household’s Servant
Being a last-born strong-arms you into a combination of your older siblings’ and parents’ power. You are expected to follow orders without questions. Parents will skip everyone in the birth order to assign you an errand. Your gender is insignificant to the kinds of errands. You are born to serve, no questions asked. Definitely not to mentioning the consequences of insubordination.
Some of the errands are not only exhaustive but worse still, demeaning. Your siblings will not easily allow you to play with them. Neither will they agree to you using their stuff. Not unless they will exploit you (like by eating your candy) or mess with you in return. You end up being their guinea pig. The worst pain of all comes when you want to fight back, but you can’t.