{"id":1306,"date":"2025-09-11T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2025-09-11T15:12:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:12:04","slug":"8-women-on-what-people-get-wrong-about-being-the-youngest-sibling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/2025\/09\/11\/8-women-on-what-people-get-wrong-about-being-the-youngest-sibling\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Women On What People Get Wrong About Being The Youngest Sibling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tI’m a sucker for a good pop-psychology quiz. I’ll spend hours deep-diving into my Co-Star chart, justifying all my problems with “I’m a Virgo<\/a>, babe!”, and subjecting all my friends to extensive Myers-Briggs<\/a> testing. (Fun fact: more than half of them are INFPs.) And of course, I love guessing people’s birth order, even if I’ve only known them for 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

It’s not hard to fall into this little guessing game. We’re constantly told that our traits are intrinsically linked to our birth order. You know the ones. Eldest children <\/a>are the definition of successful \u2014 they’re goal-oriented, perfectionists, and are usually worthy stand-ins as a second mom. Middle children are often seen to be alienated, competitive, and neglected, with many identifying with “middle child syndrome<\/a>“.<\/p>\n

But like many birth order stereotypes, there’s a problem with how we view the youngest child. Youngest children are often seen as the bratty, fun-loving, freewheeling siblings who get away with everything.
They’re seen to have less responsibility. They’re needy and coddled. They’re spoiled, because they’re always the center of attention. They have it easy. They’re sexy (…okay, I might have made that last one up).<\/p>\n

In an effort to banish the stereotypes, we asked eight women what they wish other people knew about being the youngest child \u2014 and we found that many are actually overcompensating, overlooked and overshadowed.<\/p>\n

\n

Kira, 23<\/h2>\n

How many siblings do you have?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One older sister.<\/p>\n

What do people get wrong about being the youngest child? What do you wish people knew about being the youngest?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That we\u2019re just the spoiled sibling and that the older sibling is like another parent. I\u2019m two years younger than my sister and I\u2019m always helping her with basic things like laundry and cooking because she doesn\u2019t know how to do them herself. Younger siblings can have a lot that they feel they need to live up to with older siblings, and we\u2019re often underestimated and forgotten about.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Sophie, 30<\/h2>\n

How many siblings do you have?<\/strong>

<\/strong>One.<\/p>\n

What do people get wrong about being the youngest child? What do you wish people knew about being the youngest?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m a youngest child with an eldest rising. There’s that stereotype about the eldest being the third parent \u2014 well, in my family, that’s not the case at all. We were raised by a single mom, and she tends to lean on me for support, rather than my emotionally unavailable older brother. A therapist once told me that my brother is smart to hold us at an arm’s length emotionally, and maybe he is \u2014 but I wish I had that option. If I didn’t step in to help my mom out, it literally all would fall apart! So yeah, I resent it when I hear those beliefs that the youngest child has no responsibility \u2014 but I am definitely the most charismatic. That stereotype is definitely true!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Lily, 24<\/h2>\n

How many siblings do you have?
<\/strong>Four.<\/p>\n

What do people get wrong about being the youngest child? What do you wish people knew about being the youngest?<\/strong><\/p>\n

People often think that the youngest child always gets what they want, but something that’s overlooked is how being the youngest often means that your achievements are overshadowed. Anything you’ve achieved, your older siblings have already done. Any stress you have, they’ve already gone through. By the time you do it (e.g graduating from university, moving out of home etc), your news\/achievement\/stress can be overlooked. It also forces you to grow up a lot quicker and learn to be independent at a younger age than the rest of your siblings. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Isla, 31<\/h2>\n

How many siblings do you have?
<\/strong>
Three sisters.<\/p>\n

What do people get wrong about being the youngest child? What do you wish people knew about being the youngest?<\/strong><\/p>\n

People usually think the youngest child is a gives-no-fucks rebel who cruised through life compared to their older siblings, who always say their parents were stricter on them \u2014 but this is totally false for me. In my family, I’m definitely the calmest, so generally got into less trouble and arguments with my sisters (they fought with one another far more) and because I matured a little faster than them (younger sibling things!), I also learned from their mistakes. So, sure, my parents were maybe a bit less strict with me, but I think it’s because I largely bypassed the “acting out” stage because I had front-row seats to my sisters doing it. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Georgia, 28<\/h2>\n

How many siblings do you have?
<\/strong>
I’m the youngest of four, so I have three siblings (two older brothers and one older sister).<\/p>\n

What do people get wrong about being the youngest child? What do you wish people knew about being the youngest?
<\/strong>
I always joke that my parents stopped when they had me, because they finally got it right (they totally agree but would never say it). I feel like people feel that being the youngest means you have it the easiest, or that your siblings have walked so you can run. In my case, I felt like I had to overcompensate for my siblings. Overcompensate on effort, communication, my personality, my studies and how I moved through life. The flip side of this is that I feel because I’ve had to feel my way through life more than my siblings, I am generally more well-rounded as a person. Another misconception is that we are spoiled. This is not something I’ve resonated with at all. I would be pretty confident in saying that the youngest siblings are very self-sufficient and appreciate reaping the rewards from hard work since it’s not a hand-me-down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Billie, 30<\/h2>\n

How many siblings do you have?
<\/strong>
I’m one of four kids. I’ve got two older sisters and an older brother.<\/p>\n

What do people get wrong about being the youngest child? What do you wish people knew about being the youngest?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That the youngest siblings harbor just as much responsibility \u2014 if not more \u2014 as their older siblings. Even though I’m the youngest, I’ve had to take on the most caretaking responsibilities for my parents \u2014 far more than any other sibling. The two middle children have had the ability to spread their wings and live their own lives, but the responsibility to manage my aging mother has largely fallen onto me and my eldest sibling. <\/p>\n

I also wish that people spoke about the effects of seeing your parents age and pass away at a younger age compared to older siblings. There’s an eight-year difference between me and my eldest sibling, which means that my life at 30 looks distinctly different from hers. I’ve had to grapple with mortality and grief at an earlier age than my siblings, watching my mom transform into a senior while some of my other friends who are eldest children have young and spritely parents. That’s not a luxury I have, and I’ve already had to face that I might not have as long with my parents as other people do. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Lauren, 25
<\/h2>\n

How many siblings do you have?
<\/strong>
One.<\/p>\n

What do people get wrong about being the youngest child? What do you wish people knew about being the youngest?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve noticed people tend to believe that the youngest is considered the baby that can do no wrong; in my experience, it’s the opposite. My older sister can make more mistakes, say awful things, be intolerable, or demand more from my parents but they will brush it under the rug every time. I’ve learned to not ask for anything to save the hassle of judgement or an argument. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Cat, 32
<\/h2>\n

How many siblings do you have?
<\/strong>Three.<\/p>\n

What do people get wrong about being the youngest child? What do you wish people knew about being the youngest?
<\/strong>
People always say the youngest is spoiled but my experience was not like that. The youngest is the one who gets all the hand-me-downs, has fewer photos of their childhood as their parents weren\u2019t as excited, and \u201cget what they\u2019re given\u201d after their siblings have selected whatever item\/experience they desire. From clothes to school textbooks and uniforms to mattresses and cell phones, getting the front seat in the car and sleeping arrangements on a family vacation \u2014 the youngest gets what\u2019s left over after everyone else has decided what they want. It\u2019s also hard to be taken seriously as the youngest when you\u2019re an adult because everyone still sees you as \u201cthe baby\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m a sucker for a good pop-psychology quiz. I’ll spend hours deep-diving into my Co-Star chart, justifying all my problems with “I’m a Virgo, babe!”, and subjecting all my friends to extensive Myers-Briggs testing. (Fun fact: more than half of them are INFPs.) And of course, I love guessing people’s birth order, even if I’ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecotech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1306"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1307,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions\/1307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}