Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for May 25, 2011

That’l teach ya to think. Know better next time.

Uncle Wally is Da Man!

Yeah, we middle children have always been ignored!

“Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!”

Yep, middle (and I’m an eldest…)

Poor Wally (and other middle children)… they have so much to say and contribute, but they’re usually overlooked.

I do think middle is the worst (note, I’m not a middle child. I’m a youngest child). But my brother who is the middle child has had amazing success. 4.0 gpa in high school. Largest scholarship you can get to Johns Hopkins University. Accepted to all the best med schools in the country. I spent my high school career being compared to my brother (that one, not the oldest one nobody could remember.) So youngest is hardest in that extent, and the extent of having two older brothers who teased me mercilessly. But I also had far more paid for by my older and wealthier parents and two older brothers who looked out for me and helped me even while teasing me.

Not sure I should comment here as there are only two of us.

Let you all know I read different comics strips. Found out different one will be joining GC June 1st next week. They have close to same strips though a few will be added here at GC.

You’re just figuring that out now Wally?

I only had a brother but he has born in 1940 when our parents were doing a little better (and they had always hoped for a boy) so he was totally spoiled and got to finish college while I did not (born in 37). He was so spoiled that he also let his wife put him thru law school then divorced her and lived with Dad’s flashy secretary. He never worked a full day and was barred from both law and realestate in IL (for cheating clients) the list goes on, but Karma caught up;)

Don’t know why I see stick out on my comment!

The middle is usually the worst (I’m the eldest). However, when it’s eldest-girl, middle-boy, youngest-girl. The middle being the only boy isn’t so bad.

Noreen: Well, that’s probably true. I know I was the only girl, not just among my siblings but among my cousins on one side of the family, and that had its perks.

Wally is right. There are too many other factors to give a pat answer. Besides, you can be middle in some ways an younger or older in other ways. I am the second of two boys, with two girls following, so (at least theoretically) I have the older child dynamic in relation to my sisters and younger child dynamic in relation to my brother. In truth, I don’t pay much attention to any of the supposed differences.

Yeah, I think Wally is right too. What if both parents are oldest children and they have memories of getting in trouble for things their younger sibling did? They might be more understanding towards the oldest child. Or if both parents are youngest and have memories of the older sibling getting more attention? They might be more understanding towards the youngest child. How fair the parents are makes a big impact.

In my cousin’s family, the eldest of the three children had it worst – but that sibling was the only one with disabilities. While the middle child was able to study in Australia, and travel around for a month afterwards, the oldest child wasn’t even permitted to use a full-tuition scholarship for an engineering school in New York City (6 hours away). The other two children could get summer jobs; the oldest one was stuck in a speech-therapy program. The problems just keep on going.