Family Dynamics & Birth Order

I don’t know about you, but I find family dynamics fascinating. Birth order can have such a lasting effect on our psyches!

If you’re a first-born, you’re likely to be responsible. After all, you helped your folks keep track of the younger rug-rats, and that wasn’t always a picnic. If you’re a middle-kid, you may have occasionally felt lost in the shuffle; also not a great experience. And if you’re the baby of the family, people always assume you’re spoiled! Either that or they’re still treating you like an infant long after you reach the age of consent.

And all of that doesn’t even touch the issues of an only child.

I’m in a unique position to tell you about the differences between only kids and those with siblings, because I’m an only child with five brothers. No, seriously, that’s my actual position in my nuclear family. I have five sibs (all guys), but I was raised as a one and only due to the extreme difference in our ages. (I have a nephew just a few months my junior.) It’s an odd alignment, but it’s the only one I’ve ever known.

Me as an infant with all five of my brothers… and our faithful dog!

So, depending on how you look at it, I’m the baby of six, or I’m an only child. Bizarre, huh?

Like the heroine of one of my short stories, I was blessed (cursed?) with a mom who was wise to the ways of kids. By the time I was old enough to pull shenanigans, I knew I’d have to be very crafty to put anything past Mom. Fortunately, I’m smart…and female. Mom was accustomed to dealing with boys, so I managed to elude the parental units on a number of occasions.

Of course, I also had a bad case of youngest child syndrome — the need to please. Everyone else had already made their mark. What was left for me to excel in? Not much time for rule-breaking when you’re trying to measure up to (and surpass, if possible) five excellent brothers!

Whether you read Debbie Mumford’s SFF and romance works (targeted for adults) or Deb Logan’s fantasies (targeted for teens and tweens), you’ll find quite a few family oriented themes, because, at least in my life, family is important!

About Debbie

Debbie Mumford specializes in fantasy and paranormal romance. She loves mythology and is especially fond of Celtic and Native American lore. She writes about faeries, dragons, and other fantasy creatures for adults as herself, and for tweens and young adults as Deb Logan.
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