Big Kids: Birth Order & The Prince Harry Effect

Welcome to This Glorious Mess Big Kids. A twice-weekly look at parenting as it really is. Confusing, exhausting, inspiring, funny, and full of surprises. So many surprises. Do you think a large part of your personality has been influenced by where you sit within the family constellation?  Well if you answered yes, you might be onto something. In fact, a man by the name of Frank Sulloway pioneered birth theory. After studying over 6000 scientists and social reformers he theorised that your place in the family coincided with your ability to accept or challenge ideas. Michael Grose our guest today wrote a book all about this stuff back in 2003, Why First-Borns Rule the World and Last-Borns Want to Change It. This year he's re-releasing it because families have changed a lot since then, they’re getting smaller. And with that comes a whole lot more to unpack. So is birth theory something we should factor into parenting or as Andrew says is it just a convenient excuse for not getting along with things...  LINKS The revised edition of Michael's book, Why First-Borns Rule the World and Last-Borns Want to Change, is out June 1st.  CREDITS Hosts: Holly Wainwright & Andrew Daddo Guest: Michael Grose Producer: Mikayla Floriano  CONTACT US Send your parenting dilemmas to [email protected] Looking for a community of like-minded parents? Join our Mamamia Parents Facebook Page... https://www.facebook.com/groups/1047713658714395/   Want a weekly parenting newsletter from Holly Wainwright? Sign up here... https://www.mamamia.com.au/newsletter/ Looking for other podcasts to listen to?  You'll find all our Mamamia shows at https://mamamia.com.au/podcasts/ Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.