The Middle Child

Now with my oldest in school, you may ask how my little ones that have been left behind are. They’re doing well. The baby is a baby. His world is about the same. But my middle girl is the big sis now and rising to the occasion! It’s weird not having my oldest there. She’s a talker and a leader. She normally takes her sister by the hand and helps her with everything. I don’t mind because I’m usually juggling the baby but my middle child has been habituated to it! They even role play mommy and baby! You can guess who is who!

At first with her sister gone all day, my little girl’s world was all topsy-turvy. She cried the night before kindergarten and said her sister was “gonna be gone forever.” I think she is not used to seeing herself as separate from her sister. I have always worried that being a middle child she’d get lost amidst the chaos of three kids. Some people will talk about birth order and how the middle child may feel unloved or left out. They suggest pointing out that the middle child has the best of both worlds. They are both a big sibling and a little sibling. With her older sister at school, I have had more time with her, and I have really seen the difference. She seems older and more capable. There still are times when she asks for help. But most of the time, it’s stuff that she is able to do. I think she is used to her sister just doing it all for her, and I was used to letting her sister do it all for her. Now if she’s stuck or needs something, I help her figure out how she’s going to solve it. The photo posted is of her picking up all her little toys from the bathtub. I suggested a basket when she wanted me to pick them up.

I love having three children. I hope she knows how special, unique, and lucky we feel to have her in our life! I have been telling her that she is the big sister to her baby brother and sure enough today she grabbed a diaper and put it on him! What was so funny was that he let her! Now who is the mommy and who is the baby? She’s out under her sister’s shadow and shining.

Sheila Cason, MD