# What's Your Birth Ordinance? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089 "2008-09-18T02:48:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/121 "2008-09-23T08:51:51Z")
Eldest of three, by 6 and 8 years. Also eldest cousin on Mom’s side; second-eldest but often with eldest’s responsibilities on Dad’s side. Babysitting? Yeah, I can do babysitting… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/122 "2008-09-23T09:10:19Z")
Eldest child of three. My sister is 4 years younger, and my brother, 14 years. ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/123 "2008-09-23T09:35:17Z")
I’m the fifth of seven kids, all from the same parents. Boy-girl-girl-girl-boy-girl-boy, every even year from '62 to '76 except one miscarriage. I’m libertarian, atheist, and 90% straight. \ My mom is the oldest daughter of an oldest daughter of an oldest daughter, and my dad is the youngest son of a youngest son of a youngest son. There are big families on my dad’s side, so all of his ancestors were dead by the time I was born. On my mom’s side, both _great_-grandmothers lived until I was an adult, and both grandparents are still alive. \ ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/124 "2008-09-23T11:59:30Z")
I’m older than my sister by 2.5 years. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/125 "2008-09-23T14:12:32Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > **Dr. Poopiepants** , I hear youngest children (not “babies”) often tell wildly imaginative stories to get attention. Do you think there’s any truth to that? 😃 That has not been my experience. Contrary to the pop-psychology consensus, I’ve found youngest children, myself included, to be rather stoic and as abhorrent of undue attention as a male black widow spider retreating nimbly on the web of his in flagrante dilecto paramour—but, YMMV. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/126 "2008-09-23T14:38:49Z")
I’m 3rd of 4, the only girl and was the youngest for almost 8 years before younger brother came along. I identify more as a middle than a youngest, but I’m sure I occasionally display as a youngest and don’t realize it. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/127 "2008-09-23T14:57:38Z")
Only child. ---
**Author:** ![erleichda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4da419/32.png) [@erleichda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erleichda)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/128 "2008-09-24T07:59:02Z")
Hey, \*\* WhyNot \*\*,who the heck is \*\*12. erleichola \*\*? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/129 "2008-09-24T08:22:23Z")
I am my dad’s youngest child of 4 and my mom’s youngest of two. All around baby of the family, excluding step-siblings who weren’t around for the formative years. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/130 "2008-09-24T13:57:55Z")
**Ignatz** , you managed to be very precise without being at all informative. 😉 You’re the third and fourth, but were there some after you? You’re either a middle or a youngest, but I can’t tell which from the information you gave. > [@erleichda](#): > > Hey, \*\* WhyNot \*\*,who the heck is \*\*12. erleichola \*\*? :dubious: heh. Now you know my secret - when I write quickly, my lower case d’s sometimes become detached. S’okay, though. It makes codfish coolfish. 🆒 (Lemme fix that…) **Only Children - 8** 1. Stucco 2. Tamerlane 3. Student Driver 4. Walker in Eternity 5. Jayn\_Newell 6. Justin Credible 7. Autolycus 8. Engineer Dude \*\* Eldest Children - 46\*\* 1. Governor Quinn 2. Merhouse 3. Cazzle 4. Antinor01 5. elfkin477 6. Oakminster 7. pbbth 8. Inner Stickler 9. neutron star 10. RunSilent 11. Noone Special 12. VunderBob 13. auRa 14. Dead Cat 15. ParkParkhead 16. Wallenstein 17. Erin Puff 18. Yllaria 19. Eva Luna 20. Czarcasm 21. Giltathriel 22. Trouble Again 23. dangermom 24. Retro Vertigo 25. butler1850 26. torie 27. Sternvogel 28. meenie7 29. 5-HT 30. lynxie 31. quilter 32. SmartAleq 33. Baker 34. whiterabbit 35. Scribble 36. beanpod 37. LouiseE (?) 38. matt\_mcl 39. MoodIndigo1 40. blondebear 41. LifeOnWry 42. anya marie 43. lindsaybluth 44. Nava 45. Alessan 46. JpnDude **Middle Children - 17** 1. Aesiron 2. NinetyWt 3. Kaio 4. Cincator 5. featherlou 6. RKJUgly 7. Sleeps With Butterflies 8. chela 9. ShibbOleth 10. KittenKat 11. rucciface 12. erleichda 13. autz 14. CubMistress 15. thirdwarning 16. Tool of the Conspiracy 17. Lsura **Youngest Children - 32** 1. Sampiro 2. silenus 3. taterbug398 4. twickster 5. Bibliocat 6. Azhure 7. Kambuckta 8. eleanorigby 9. Bayard 10. Litoris 11. Sigmagirl 12. Khadaji 13. Zebra 14. pianista 15. Kalea 16. mack 17. pravnik (I think. 7th son of 7th son, but does that mean there was no 8th kid?) 18. Clothahump 19. SpecialAgent Jem 20. jsgoddess 21. Queen Tonya 22. Salem 23. panache45 24. Queen of Town 25. akira5822 26. IvoryTowerDenizen (?) 27. GingerOfTheNorth 28. Wile E 29. MissGypsy 30. Lyanthya 31. Dr. PoopiePants 32. Frosted Glass **“It’s Complicated” - 15** I included my best guess of the poster’s self identification. **Identity changed over time - 3** 1. WhyNot (Only –\> Youngest) 2. Lobot (Only –\> Eldest) 3. Rachael Rage (Only –\> Eldest) **Identify as Only - 2** 4. Anaamika 5. A shameful cracka… **Identify as Eldest - 5** 6. LurkerInNJ 7. Hey Hey Paula 8. Wygtya 9. ladybug 10. elelle **Identify as Middle - 1** 11. interface2x **Identify as Youngest - 3** 12. An Arky 13. Risha 14. KneadToKnow\*\* Has no idea - 1\*\* 15. schnuckiputzi Anyone know where we can find some information to put this data into context? Obviously, we have a lot fewer Only children on The Dope (or at least, fewer Only children in this thread) - but is that just because there are fewer only children in the world? How do our percentages compare with bigger statistics? Middles seen underrepresented as well - but is that because more families have two children than more children? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/131 "2008-09-26T04:36:32Z")
I’m the oldest of 5 girls. My parents were both the youngest in their families. My dad’s conservative, the rest of us are liberal. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/132 "2008-09-26T14:07:58Z")
Dad’s first of two, Mom’s first of two. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/133 "2008-09-26T17:09:18Z")
Mark me down as an only child. Although my mom had a son die in during childbirth before me and a daughter die the same way after me. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/134 "2008-09-26T19:41:01Z")
Only Child- raised in the backwoods then transported to the ghetto ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089/135 "2008-09-26T20:10:53Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > Only Child- raised in the backwoods then transported to the ghetto Missed the edit- for Mom’s side of the family, my mom was the eldest child and eldest first cousin. I am as well. My daughter is too, on our side, although she has older cousins on _her_ mother’s side. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-birth-ordinance/464089.md?page=6)