Tracing Their Traits
February 25, 2010
Whether you are the oldest, youngest or in between,
birth order plays a powerful role in determining your personality
By Nina Underman
<nunderman@hilite.org>
There are many issues twins and juniors Kelsey and Kirby Lynch don’t agree on. However, when it comes to their little sister, freshman Melanie Lynch, they are both on the same page.
“Melanie is the most attention-seeking person in the family,” Kelsey said. “She always overreacts, just to get the attention.”
For her part though, Melanie has a different point of view. “I like being the youngest in my family, but all my sisters pick on me,” she said.
Kelsey, Kirby and Melanie, whose older sister Natalie Lynch was a senior at this school last year and is currently a college freshman, are not alone. Recent research has shown that, in every family, each sibling has distinct personality characteristics that were determined simply by the order in which he was born.
There are many aspects of life that can be controlled, but the order in which we popped out of the womb is not one of them. As Lila Torp, Human Development and Family Wellness teacher, put it, “To think that you could grow up with siblings and they would not affect your development makes no sense. They’re going to have some impact on your life, not as much as a parent, but certainly more than the neighbors would have.”
Though every family is different, trends have consistently shown certain stereotypes in each birth order.
For example, a 2007 study of 250,000 people by Norwegian epidemiologists showed a negative correlation between IQ and birth order: the more older siblings one has, the lower one’s IQ. Additionally, a survey of 9,236 British mothers published in 2009 for the NetMums Web site found that 77 percent believe birth order has an effect on their children. The survey found the majority of parents feel they identify most with their oldest child and believe their youngest will be happiest in life.
According to Torp, “First-borns tend to be more expected to achieve. Parents are new to parenting and don’t want to mess up. Rules are stricter for the first-born, but everything from their first step to their first spelling test is a cause for celebration. Younger siblings may feel left out.”
Torp said middle children have to do the most adapting because they have played the roles of both the younger and older sibling.
“(Middle children) start out as the baby of the family, and when a younger sibling is born, they have to adjust to no longer being the youngest,” she said. “They have to learn to compromise with both of those people so they learn more flexibility than the other birth orders.”
Last-born children, according to Torp, are often considered the babies of the family and usually live up to this role. At times, it is difficult for the last-born child to find his place in the family because the first and middle children have already left huge footprints in which to follow. Because of this, most last-borns will seek attention any way they can, usually
through humor. Torp, who is the second of two children, said part of the reason she is a teacher is because she likes the attention.
“I get up in front of the class and everyone looks at me all day,” Torp said. “Not knowingly, my birth order influenced my career choice.”
In the Lynch family’s case, these birth order roles seem consistent with the girls’ personalities.
“Natalie was the first one (in the family) to turn 16,” Kirby said. “It was a big deal. She searched for her dream car and she found this one in Ohio, so she begged our parents to buy it. They agreed, even though it was over the budget they gave her and they had to drive to Ohio just to get her dream car.”
“When our 16th birthday came and it was time for us to get a car, our parents said, ‘We learned from our mistake and you’re not getting the car you want and you’ll get whatever we give you,’” Kelsey said. “I mean, I understand where they’re coming from, but it still seemed unfair.”
In addition to being the middle children in their family, Kelsey and Kirby are also fraternal twins. According to Torp, each set of twins has a “leader” and a “follower.” The leader twin usually resembles the first-born in being opinionated and loud, while the follower is more quiet.
“Kelsey is usually louder than me, but I get pretty competitive,” Kirby, the younger twin, said. “I’m not competitive about everything but in certain things like sports, I definitely am.”
Melanie, the youngest Lynch child, said she doesn’t look for attention but likes it. “I wouldn’t want to be the oldest or in the middle,” she said. “Being the youngest is fun.” However, Kelsey and Kirby said they think Melanie can sometimes be manipulative, a characteristic of the last-born.
“She always thinks she’s sick,” Kirby said. “When one of us is actually sick, she’ll say she is too, just to get the attention.”
“Melanie always takes my clothes,” Kelsey said. “She steals my clothes, and then, when I ask her if she took them, she tells me that she doesn’t have them.”
In the classroom, Torp said that, after she gets to know her students, she is close in guessing their birth order. “I can tell because the babies tend to like attention,” Torp said. “The first-borns tend to be more responsible and get their assignments in on time and if they don’t, they feel guilty about it and they talk to me about it. They are perhaps more mature in the way they ask questions. The middle children seem to be able to get along with a lot of different people. They seem to be more adaptable.”
Whether you are the oldest, youngest, or in between, there’s no denying that your birth order affects who you are. “Everyone has been cast in a birth order role since day one,” Torp said. “Our personalities reflect this, whether we realize it or not, because that’s the role we’ve grown up with and are most comfortable in.”
Living with a Label
January 29, 2010
The American Muslim community still faces discrimination, continuing almost a decade after the 9/11 terrorist attacks
JUST BLENDING IN: Freshman Samreen Uzzama goes throughout her day wearing her hijab, a head covering typically worn by Muslim women. Uzzama says she faces some religious discrimination, but ridicule has lessened since she enrolled at CHS. ARJUNA CAPULONG / PHOTO
By Victor Xu
<vxu@hilite.org>
After freshman Samreen Uzzama began wearing her hijab in seventh grade to further her Islamic faith, she said discrimination toward her suddenly intensified. “Terrorist,” students called. “Do you have a bomb?” others asked. Even outside school she said she was the subject of harsh language from older people.
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC: History
January 29, 2010
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INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC: What’s Inside Diet Coke
December 16, 2009
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—
Q & A WITH CHEMISTRY TEACHER DEBORAH HAIRE
Compiled By Steven Chen
<stevenchen@hilite.org>
Why is sugar harmful?
Sugar suppresses the immune system.
How do soft drinks deplete calcium?
The acid causes the calcium to leech from the bones into the blood system.
What about artificial sugars?
The sad part about those is the fact that the body can’t tell the difference between artificial sweeteners and real sugar so it continues to secrete insulin into the bloodstream. This causes confusion for the pancreas, which secretes the insulin.
What are substitutes to soft drinks?
Good old fashioned water. But of course people won’t do that. If you want a soft drink, then drink a vitamin-enriched water product.
How much sugar would you recommend?
I’d say very little sugar if any. As far as young people go, moderation is the key. But as you age, sugar is detrimental to one’s overall health and may lead to cancer, arthritis, dementia, and type-2 diabetes.
—
NUTRITION FACTS OF DIET COKE
Serving size: 8 fl oz.
Calories: 1.0
Carbohydrates: 0.1 grams
Sodium: 28 mg
Potassium: 12 mg
Phosphorous: 18 mg
Caffeine: 31 mg
Aspartame: 125 mg
COCA-COLA / SOURCE
Winter Workout(side?)
December 12, 2009
As days get colder and shorter, students find ways to stay active and focus on fitness during the long winter months.
HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES: Senior Mark Garrison attempts to score during a Carmel Dads’ Club practice on Dec. 7. Carmel Dads’ Club offers numerous opportunities for students to stay active during the winter, including men’s and women’s recreational basketball. SARA ROGERS / PHOTO
By Cassie Dugan and Celina Wu
<cdugan@hilite.org>, <cwu@hilite.org>
As the frosted grass crunches beneath her running shoes with each stride, senior Sarah Schinbeckler braves the chilly winter weather. Her face red with exertion from running, she attempts to avoid the ice and slick patches on the ground. Because of the obstacles, exercising in the cold is not a frequent occurrence for Schinbeckler. Read more
Survival of the Fastest
November 20, 2009
New studies show newspaper circulation is down 10.6 percent from last year. As technology advances, students turn away from newspapers and to the Internet and television to receive their news more rapidly.
DANIEL LI/GRAPHIC
By Sarah Yun
<syun@hilite.org>
Sophomore Lauren Miller is one student here who said she has stopped ordering newspapers in order to save money. According to Miller, her family decided to stop subscribing to newspapers because they thought that it was a waste of money when they could get their news for free from the Internet or the TV. Read more
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