The Pros and Cons Of Being The Youngest Child

Being the youngest person in the family means there are certain privileges, but there are also times when you get the short end of the stick. You will always be known as the youngest child in the family no matter what you do and you seem to always have a chip on your shoulder. Here are the pros and cons of being the youngest in the family.

Pro: Your older sibling will always get the blame for everything

Ah yes, because they're meant to be older and wiser, they will always get the blame. It doesn't matter what it was, you could get away scot-free by just pretending to cry in front of your parents. This strategy admittedly has a shelf-life and probably won't carry much sway after the age of about 26.

Con: Your parents don't give you as much attention

They have been through it all before, so they're not amazed at the little cute things you do and so they give you less attention. You did things to get their attention, but they would always just say "very good, honey" and not even look at you.

Pro: You would never run out of clothes

You were never stuck for clothes - you could always just rob some of your sibling's clothes if you didn't have any.

Con: It's all hand-me-downs

Not everything your older sibling had was good and sometimes you had to settle for that questionable t-shirt that they had. A lot of the time you had to make do with their stuff and if you asked to get new clothes, your parents would just tell you to wear any hand-me-down they gave you.

Pro: You have more freedom

If you're the youngest you tend to have more free rein to do what you want. They know that they can't force their children to like something so they usually just leave you to your own devices.

Con: You're always getting compared to your older siblings

Whenever you have your family over, they will always compare you to your older brother or sister. "You know you're so like your brother" as if you have never heard that before.

Pro: You're not a nobody when you get to school

If you had a brother or sister that went to the same school as you, you didn't have as much groundwork to do. People will know you from your brother or sister and already have some respect for you.

Con: All of your teachers associate you with your brother and sister

If your brother or sister was a bit of a troublemaker, then you were automatically labelled as a troublemaker. You could actually be good in class, but they would still treat you differently because of your older siblings.

Pro: You knew all the cool stuff before your friends

If the rest of your friends were the oldest in their family or an only child, you would always be able to fill them in. If there was some cool action movie or video game that was coming out that you were too young to play, you would tell them about it.

Cons: They always got to do everything before you

You were always too young to do anything, and your sibling was always allowed to do everything before you. They were the first one to go to a disco and were always allowed stay up later. You were always envious of what they were able to do because they were older.

Pro: You would always get to play with the toys that they didn't use anymore

You had been eyeing one of their toys for ages, but you know they won't let you play with it. Then the finally day comes where they don't care and you get to play with all their cool toys.

Cons: In return, you were their guinea pig

You would often end up being their test subject, where they would write on your face or mess with you. They would only let you play with their stuff unless they could mess with you. You always had the urge to fight back.

Pro: Your sibling's tastes rub off on you

If they liked Blink 182 chances are you will end up liking them as well. Their taste tends to be similar to yours because you just follow them. Usually, you start to develop your own, but sometimes they just seem to stick with you.

Con: They don't exactly have the most acquired taste

At the time you thought that the stuff they were into was hip, but sooner or later you will realise that they were just going with trends. The stuff they were into grew old really fast and you're glad you have moved on from some of it.

Pros: You learn to develop thick skin

The one thing that you definitely get a lot of when you're the youngest child is slagging. Your older sibling makes it a point to torment you any way they can. You learn to deal with it and by the end, you can dish it out just as good as they can.

Cons: They will always slag you in front of your friends

It's literally the worst when you're with your friends and your sibling comes along and embarrasses the hell out of you. They say something like "you know he still wets his bed" even though it's not true, your friends will make up a new nickname for you.

Pro: No one has high expectations for you

Everyone knows that eldest child has the biggest burden on their back and they're the one that has to set an example. If you are the youngest, the expectation for you isn't as high. It's always great though when you surprise people with how well you do.

Con: You're constantly living in your sibling's shadow

This is one of the unfortunate things about being the youngest in the family, you can't quite shake the comparison with those older than you. You just have to deal with it and carve out your own path instead of following theirs.

Pro: You will always feel younger than your siblings

Seeing as you're the youngest in the family, when you have your birthday and you feel that bit older, you're always comfortable in the knowledge that your older siblings must feel ten times worse.

Con: You're always seen as the baby in the family

The downside to this is that you're still seen as the baby of the family, no matter how old you are you still have the tag of being the youngest. It's just another drawback of being the youngest sibling in the family.

Pro: You know how to push their buttons

Over the years you learned how to push their buttons and you really know how to piss them off even more when they're already angry. You just laugh your ass off while they still feel miserable.

Con: They are older so they can easily beat you up

There is always a time when you went too far and they had no choice but to beat you up. You did deserve it so you can't really complain, but you just wish you were able to do it to them. No matter how hard you try, they always have the upper hand.

Con: Your parents would always tell them to look after you

You hated it when you weren't allowed to do things and your brother or sister would have to watch over you. You were never given any responsibility until you got much older. You couldn't wait to be able to stay in the house by yourself with no one watching over you.

Pro: You know that they will always have your back

If anyone was giving you stick or calling you names they would always stand up for you. When someone was picking on you in school, or even some asshole is giving you lip in a bar, they always came to the rescue. You know that even today, through all the bickering and sibling rivalry they will always have your back.