When the last child is born, parents are more likely to be knowledgeable and confident in their parenting, therefore, being more relaxed and not as strict or as expectant as when parenting the eldest.
Being the last born means that the child will never experience the loss of attention which is followed by the birth of a consecutive sibling. Therefore, no dethronement takes place. So, parents will channel their attention towards them for longer, maybe even throughout adulthood. As a result, the child may possess the following characteristics:
❖ Dependent and Self-centred
❖ Charming
❖ Altruistic and Tender
❖ Free-spirited and eccentric
❖ Creative
Apart from parents, even siblings contribute to such character development as they also tend to ‘baby’ and pamper them. As a result, the child learns to expect good things from interacting with others, therefore developing a sense of trust even towards people outside the family.
Additionally, last borns were born as the smallest and presumably the weakest, therefore they could never obtain anything through violence. For this reason they are more likely to develop skills of persuasion.
Lastly, children born in this birth order are likely to pursue carriers related to the arts and also those related to marketing.
-Alessia Camilleri – an intern with Willingness.com.mt