When I was born I was the first child of my parents and first grandchild of both my grandparents. So, yes, I was quite honestly a little spoiled the first two years of my life. Then, my brother was born, and I was obviously quite jealous as I smacked him on the head the first day he came home from the hospital. We've grown quite close since then, but ever since that day I believe it became ingrained in me somehow that I was the oldest. I took on the role of big sister. This role came even bigger when I started getting younger cousins. I've always been quite wise for my age, but this simple fact of being the oldest I believe played a huge part in my growing up. With this being said, here's some things I've been told my whole life being the oldest.
"You're the oldest! You should've been watching them!"
It never fails. You're in a room with all your cousins or brother and sisters or both and you're just minding your own business when all of a sudden someone gets hurt or upset. An adult comes in wondering what happens and they look straight to you, and all you can do is raise your hands in defeat.
"I don't have to listen to you! You're not my mom!"
When you're watching your siblings or cousins and someone decides to act up and you try to solve the problem, they always try to bring this up. Which you then respond with, "well they're not here right now, so I'm in charge."
"Why can't I go too? She gets to go!" "She's older than you."
This one wasn't always so bad. Your siblings would wanna go with you to a friends or a movie but they would always be too young. It was always kind of nice to get superiority for being the oldest.
"You have to be a good example."
You don't do that great on a test or you get in an argument and your parents bring this up to you. They're right of course, but it was still frustrating at the time.
"You can get it when you're older."
You would have to wait on everything until you were older. New smart phone? Not until you're older. Tattoos? Not until your older. But when your younger sibling get older and asks for those things, they more than likely get them.
"What's this teacher like?" "Who's that?" "How do you get to that room?"
Once your sibling gets into high school and they have all kinds of questions, they'll normally come to you, and with any luck, they won't have to face that awful teacher you got in ninth grade.
"You're too over-protective. I'll be fine."
Once your siblings start getting older and going through all their milestones like getting a car and a job, you're constantly worried about them. Wondering when they'll get home and telling them to text you when they get to wherever they're going.
No matter what, it should feel good to be the oldest. You get all the first's and you're always there for your siblings and cousins to pass on some of your wisdom. Being the oldest is a big job, and shouldn't be taken lightly.
