No one really pays attention to the second child. While everyone is scrutinizing every move the firstborn makes, the second child gets to go through life out of the fishbowl. Just look at Prince Harry.
There will be less pressure for kid #2. All expectations are on the firstborn, which makes it harder to succeed. But with little expectations on the second child, that child is a success no matter what he or she does.
Kid #2 won’t have the only child-to-big brother struggle. Until mom and dad have more children, the firstborn is king of the castle. When the second child comes along, most firstborns struggle with the intrusion of their new sibling.
This baby will get the chance to rule the household. PG got to be an only child when he was too young to notice. But when he goes off to college or moves out permanently, kid #2 gets to feel like an only child at home, at a time when he or she is old enough to appreciate it.
Being the king doesn’t seem like much fun. PG’s path has been laid out for him since birth. But without the pressure of a monarchy to run, the second child gets to decide his or her own path, which may include being anything from a rock star to a doctor. And let’s face it it’s more fun to be Mick Jagger than to be Prince Charles, right?
Kid #2 will learn from PG’s experiences and mistakes. Every child has to learn lessons the hard way, but the learning curve of the little sib will be cut short a bit by watching PG learn the hard way. It’s like having a user’s manual for life, courtesy of your older bro.
As the youngest of three, I can honestly say that #2 has the best of both worlds. He or she gets the benefits of having a cool older sibling without the pressure of running a country. Plus doesn’t everyone think Harry has more fun that William? I do.
Photo: Getty
