Abstract
This chapter argues that the birth order is socially constructed and shows how birth order hierarchies are negotiated in everyday interactions between siblings. It explores the relative opportunities and constraints of children’s birth order positions within families. The chapter indicates that both children and parents recognize the existence of age and birth order hierarchies and that this may influence how siblings behave as well as how they are treated by family members. However, the ways in which age and birth order hierarchies are played out in children’s everyday lives are dynamic and do not follow rigid rules. The benefits and limitations of being in any birth order position are negotiated, contested, and accepted in a multitude of ways across different sibling groups. The chapter draws on the perspectives of older, middle, and younger siblings in order to demonstrate the many tensions and complexities which surround the perceived strengths and weaknesses of different locations in the birth order.
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Punch, S. (2018). Negotiating Sibling Relationships and Birth Order Hierarchies. In: Punch, S., Vanderbeck, R. (eds) Families, Intergenerationality, and Peer Group Relations. Geographies of Children and Young People, vol 5. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-026-1_7
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