Kayte Falk 

November 20, 2023

I am the oldest child and I have the inside sneak of what the pros and cons are. One con of being the oldest is that everything is new for you. No matter what you do, it will be the first time in your generation that someone in your close family will do that same thing. Yes, parents were once teenagers too, but they did not have the same struggles or strengths that you have in the modern day. Therefore, unless you have an older cousin, no one can help you with the advice you seek in every situation. For example, if you want to go to a party, your parents can’t help you decide what to wear, or what kind of makeup look you should do. 

Another con that the oldest child has is stricter parents. Parents are generally more lax when it comes to the younger child because it’s their last child. Older children are experiencing new things and the parents are undergoing being on the parenting side of these new encounters for them as well.

 So everything first that you have, it’s also the first time the parents are going through that as well. This can be a blessing and a curse all at once. For example, your parents will often get you a phone with no limits, simply because they don’t know why, how, or what to use to limit it. As well as curfew, your curfew will probably be later simply because they don’t know what time they should put your curfew. 

This is a curse also because when you are doing something, or have a question on certain things, they can’t always help you because they lack the experience.

 Being the eldest, you also have rules restricted that your younger siblings never had. Your parents for some reason are always more strict on the oldest child than the youngest child. 

They also always want you to babysit but you don’t get paid. Your parents will always want you to do all of the chores that your younger siblings can’t or simply don’t know how to do. 

There are many cons of being the oldest, but there are also many pros. One good thing about being the oldest child is that you get to experience everything before your siblings, as well as having special treatment rights. For example, my siblings always know that I sit in the front seat and now they just let me have it. I also get to experience milestones before everyone else, so it’s a big deal when I do it, but when my younger siblings do that milestone, it’s not as big because my parents have already done that. You never get any hand-me-downs. Everything you get you get new, or somewhat new. You don’t have an older sibling to have new stuff that you get once it doesn’t fit them. You get much more responsibility as well. You get to be in charge in certain situations and help keep your siblings in line. They also have to listen to you or you can threaten them with the, “I’ll tell mom and dad if you don’t listen to me.”