Bold peacemakers - that’s middle children

Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, left, meets with President Nelson Mandela in Cape Town South Africa. Both men are middle children.

Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, left, meets with President Nelson Mandela in Cape Town South Africa. Both men are middle children.

Published Oct 19, 2011

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The term “middle child” comes with heavy stereotypical weight attached.

Ask many what they feel characterises a middle child and reactions tend to veer overwhelmingly towards the negative.

But “middles” have been misrepresented and under-researched – and it’s time to set the record straight, say the authors of a new book, The Secret Power of Middle Children.

According to the media, say the book’s authors, Catherine Salmon and Katrin Schumann, they are often portrayed with the nebulous label “middle child syndrome”.

“Characterised by neglect, resentment, low creativity, lack of career focus, a negative outlook on life, the feeling that they don’t belong,” write the authors, “the overall picture is tremendously negative.”

“In reality,” write Salmon and Schumann, “contrary to expectations, middleborns are agents of change in business, politics, and science – more so than firstborns or lastborns.”

More than half of US presidents are middleborn – John F Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln are just two examples. The Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Charles Darwin, Ernest Hemingway, Warren Buffett, Donald Trump, Madonna and Bill Gates also hold middle child status.

“They’re more motivated by fairness than money when making life choices, and have a deep sense of family, friends, and loyalty. History shows them to be risk takers and trailblazers, yet they do suffer needlessly from poor self-esteem,” write the authors.

The book highlights the diplomacy of middle children, who are, say the authors, often peacemakers: “Middles are self-aware team players with remarkable diplomatic skills. Because they’re both outgoing and flexible, they tend to deal well with others – in the workplace and at home,” say the authors.

Salmon said that middles are “bold, adventurous, positive people”.

Schumann went on: “They have to earn their self-esteem and build confidence with age and experience.”

And because they have dealt with competition from both sides, they don’t like conflict and have great peacemaking and negotiation skills. – Daily Mail

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