"Siblings Share Genes But Rarely Personality" article and study

[Starflower]

I thought this article/study was very interesting. They give three theories to why kids with the same basic genetic material and upbringing usually end up being so different from one another. I know in my own life, that my decision to have an only child was largely based on my family experiences with my brother.

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/18/131424595/siblings-share-genes-but-rarely-personalities&sc=fb&cc=fp

[Smokering]

Interesting.

I have five siblings, and I'd say we have more in common than most siblings. We're all Aspie to some degree, we have very similar tastes in books, music and film (and those things are similarly important to us), and we were homeschooled, so probably spent more time together than average. We're definitely not clones, but people often comment on how similar we are. But we're definitely not normal. :p

[mclisa]

I had a chance to listen to this on NPR this morning and found it quite interesting.  I'm not like my siblings (I was listening to NPR instead of country music!) 

[cappuccinosmom]

Interesting.

I just had a deep conversation with my little boys about personality differences.  We talked about how they are brothers, but have different personalities.  I would say that they are similar in a way.  There is an overall family personality, and then differences under that umbrella.  My oldest and youngest are very much alike.  My middle child often seems like he's from another planet, personality wise.  The differences make life fun and interesting. 

[pregnant@40]

How exciting to read this and be pregnant again w/ a second! I really look forward to seeing if my two have similar or vastly different personalities!

[A&A]

The article doesn't seem to mention birth order, but that can have a huge effect on personality, as well.

[Starflower]

There was another article on birth order the next day. I haven't read it yet, but here's a link:

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/18/131424878/how-much-does-birth-order-shape-our-lives&sc=fb&cc=fp

There's another about China's only children since they started the one child per family rule. I will read that one as well since I have an only.

[Starflower]

OK. I read the birth order article. It was kind of interesting, but I know entire books have been written about this subject. I think it's interesting to spot trends like in these articles, but really each family's dynamic is so unique.

As a first-born, I would tend to argue against this statement for my own family, but perhaps it's truer for mots familiest:

"When the second [child] comes along, the oldest still gets half of all that [attention], so younger siblings never have a chance to catch up,"

I got kind of lost in the mix of having two kids because my brother had so many issues plus he is kind of an emotional vampire. Then add in an alcoholic father. I am very introverted and it was easier just to disappear than deal with the drama/trauma of family life. My parents gave my brother most of their time - and they still do. They also feel guilty about it. He still can't function on his own - some of which is not his fault and some of it is debatable. (It's complicated.)