The trouble with being the 1st born

Ever noticed that parents are always harder on the first born and so lenient on the rest of the children as the years go by?

Being the eldest is a burden. Not only are you the guinea pig for this parenting thing but if you are followed by siblings you also carry the unnecessary honor of being “an example.”

Parents put too much pressure on the first born. They give us way too much credit. Do you really believe that the way I live my life can inspire a whole human being that has a complete set of ideals and perceptions? We underestimate these children.

I look at my sisters and we are nothing alike. If I had set an example Zulugirl II wouldn’t have graduated Cum Laude. I’m a lazy student. I hate to read but she lives for books. Clearly, I had no influence in that young life.

The game has changed since I was young. There’s social media and instant messaging. Kids are getting creative these days. My sisters have pulled some tricks that my imagination is in awe of both good and bad.

Deep down I think my parents wish I could have moulded the minds of my young siblings. I was a docile child. Never fought or spoke back. I was afraid of my parents. Whatever they said went.

My parents could put on a beat-down! I think its that non-born free aggression manifesting itself. They beat me a couple times til I decided nope I wanna live. Won’t bounce off the walls no more. I think this move actually saved my life.

Maybe I was too good a daughter. So good they believed all children would turn out like me and so they relaxed the sanctions.

Big mistake.

The stuff that my sisters get away with is absurd. I remember going without TV because I hadn’t washed my socks or doing all the chores over the weekend because I gave the maid side-eyes. I grew up under the ‘Threats and Rewards’ system. My sisters are real born-frees though shem.

Why are parents like this though?

Do they get softer as they get older? Do they lose energy to enforce laws over the years? At 40 do they become kids again? Is that why grandparents are so awesome?