Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

…do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4

Withhold not correction from the child….
Proverbs 23:13

Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
Matthew 12:25

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.
Proverbs 20:7

Her children a rise up, and call her blessed.
Proverbs 31:28

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living
Genesis 3:20

And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Genesis 17:16

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalms 113:9

Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Proverbs 23:25

And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
Luke 8:21

The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left [to himself] bringeth his mother to shame.
Proverbs 29:15

Birth order is an important part of family dynamics. I began studying birth order, a couple of years ago. It was then I realized how important the roles we play in our families really is. Each of us, no matter if we are an only child, or we have grown up with a sibling or siblings, has a place in our family unit, that is effected by the order of our birth.

A short time after I began studying birth order and family dynamics, I began a relationship with someone, who much like me, already had children. When we finally began the merge of our two families together, knowing what birth order can mean in a family, was an important aspect of blending the two together. It truly played a vital role.

Although birth order is important in any family, it seemed much more important as we blended families. It allowed us to see how each child’s personalities worked, and how the impact of blending, as well as switching places in the birth order changes how they work and feel.

Many skeptics don’t think there is any truth to birth order. While I understand they might feel that way, there is conclusive proof that it does indeed play a role in a person’s personality. The skeptics can have their opinions, and I will have mine. I feel very confident that in our family, the dynamics are affected by each child’s original birth order and then the change of their place in the birth order.

Even my relationship with my significant other, has been shaped and molded and very clearly shows the effect of our birth order. He is a youngest, I am an oldest.

Now, I am not saying that some of our personality, is not developed or established at birth. No, clearly there are hereditary traits, which play a role in the whole personality spectrum. However, birth order defines how we handle those inherited traits.

It is very common for anger issues to be passed along. It has to do with how our brains are centrally wired. A youngest child typically handles anger by holding it inside. While vocal about many things, their anger isn’t usually one of them. They often react to anger by crying or throwing a tantrum. This stems from their place in the birth order absolutely – they are the youngest – the baby.

A middle child will hold it inside, and usually won’t react to most issues. They are often the peacemakers of the family, so if there is anger inside, they are easy to forgive and forget. It is not in their nature to remain angry.

Then there is the oldest child. Watch out for them. Their anger can often last for long periods. They are the type that often act out, can be aggressive when provoked in anger, and will hold a grudge for longer than one can imagine.

These are just typical behaviors, and not all children will handle things the same way, but there will be some consistency across the board.

I will be dissecting each birth order place holder, in later posts. It is my goal to help you better understand your child or children, how they are feeling and provide useful information, helpful suggestions and sound advice, to help improve your family dynamics. Even if you aren’t a blended family.

I have decided to spend a great deal of the month of May, discussing Birth Order and the habits, personalities and traits that seem to stem from this whole theory.

If you don’t want to read about it, just skip over it. If you do spend the time to read about it, you will be quite informed and quite educated and probably quite excited, because you will feel like, for the first time, you really understand your kid.

Hop on for the journey into Birth Order. It’s a fascinating ride!

Hey all, I am starting a new category known as The Voice of Dad, where I am going to ask Mike to periodically stick his head in here and speak his own voice. I thought this might be a nice addition so that everyone could hear a dad’s perspective to how a blended family works, doesn’t work and well, mostly Mike will be dealing with the “Dad” aspect of parenting.

If you have a question for Mike that you would like to see answered, feel free to send us email at
dad2fivekids at gmail dot com

Thanks!