National Middle Child Day 2021: 8 Scientific Facts About Middle Children

National Middle Day is commemorated every August 12 to honor the children between the eldest and the youngest in the family. While commonly associated with being the neglected or forgotten child, being the middle child is not necessarily bad.

To celebrate National Middle Child Day 2021, here are 8 scientific facts about middle kids that may help you appreciate your middle child or sibling better.

1. Middle children are becoming an endangered species

Unlike in the late ’70s where mothers gave birth to four or more children, today’s parents opt to have one or two children, according to The CUT. Access to various birth control methods, higher cost of living and women taking on more demanding careers play a crucial role in families choosing to have fewer children.

2. Middle children have uncanny negotiating skills

According to Katrin Schumann, co-author of the book “The Secret Power of Middle Children,” middle children “…become savvy, skillful manipulators.” As they are more willing to compromise and look at all sides of a question, middles can successfully argue a stand and have the patience compared to first-born or last-born children.

3. Bonds with siblings and friends are more substantial than with parents

In her book, Schumann and co-author Dr. Catherine Salmon noted that middle children forge stronger bonds with siblings and friends than their parents. The preference stems from the idea that they spend less time with parents while growing up, needing to fight for their attention with the siblings.

4. They make excellent partners, but not with other middle children

Middle children could be closed off and bad at communicating their feelings. With this, Psychologist Kevin Leman believes "middle child partnership" is a bad idea. He tells Insider that partnering a middle child with another middle child will create further communication issues.

5. Striving in diversity is a critical trait in most middle children

In a New York Times interview, Bill & Melinda Gates founding CEO Patty Stonesifer revealed that growing up at a large dinner table with people with different views helped her become comfortable with conflict and disagreement.

"As long as people are nice and not mean about it, those conflicts can be really productive," she said.

6. 23 of the 46 U.S. presidents were middle children

Fifty percent of those who took office at the White House were middle children in their families, according to Business Insider. Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are some of the notable middle child Commanders-In-Chief.

7. Many successful people are middle children

With the various skills they acquire and develop growing up, middle children tend to become more successful in their field. Famous middles include Bill Gates, Madonna and Kim Kardashian.

8. “Middle child syndrome” is a misnomer

The notion that middle children are neglected and forgotten is not grounded in real science. Instead, the idea is formed from the idea that lack of attention is bad.

"There's a perception that the first born gets all the attention, and babies get a lot of attention, so I think there's a general perception that it has to be that way," Salmon told Insider. "There's a natural tendency to think, if they're in the middle, then they're not remarkable, so they're not going to stand out, and they're going to get ignored."