Monday, October 29, 2012

A Syndrome by Any Other Name...

          Like a lot of Middle Children, I suffer from Middle Child Syndrome. MCS is a condition so powerful, it can cause damage that lasts a lifetime. Yet even though it affects millions of people, it has been virtually ignored by research.  There are no fancy telethons for MCS. And the worst part is, there is no cure. No one knows exactly who “discovered” MCS, but one thing’s for sure. Of all the injustices suffered by Middle Children, it has done the most damage. Here’s why…
          MCS is often defined as: “When a Middle Child, typically in a family of three kids who are close in age, feels left out or neglected.” Of course there’s no denying that many Middle Children share a common set of characteristics. But so do first and last-borns. How come theirs didn’t get an umbrella name? Not only did our behaviors get a name, they made it sound like a disease! You know what the definition of syndrome is? "A group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality! MCS = something is wrong with you.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

TV’s Greatest Middle Children

Malcom (NOT REALLY) in the Middle
"Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"
The immortal words of Jan Brady.
Zap2it.com has compiled a great tribute to TV’s most famous Middle Children. But before reviewing the list, let’s get one thing straight. Malcom wasn’t really in the middle! For the first four seasons, Malcom had two older brothers, Francis and Reese, and a younger brother, Dewey. This meant Malcom had at best (or worst) "shared" Middle Child status with Reese. It wasn’t until the fifth season that Malcom’s baby brother Jamie was introduced, making Malcom a true Middle Child. But that was short lived, as two seasons later in the seventh and final season, it was revealed another member of the family was expected. Being a Middle Child for only two seasons doesn’t really count. Trust me. The title seems to be more about Malcom always finding himself in the middle, yet it is now commonly accepted that Malcom actually was a Middle Child, even though he wasn’t.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Middle Child Conspiracy: a closer look

A Smack Dab inestigative report reveals the truth about Middle Child Presidents!
          
          As happy as I was to learn that 52% of all U.S. Presidents were actually Middle Children and not firstborns, (See "The Middle Child Conspiracy"), the Middle Child in me suspected it was too good to be true. So in the spirit of this year’s Presidential elections, I did a little fact checking. It turns out that just like in real life, both sides are playing it fast and loose with the facts. Granted, it’s a little hard to label some Presidents in one category or the other. For example, George Washington’s father had four children with his first wife before the 1st President was born. Washington was the first of six children from his father’s second marriage. So does he count as the first born or the fifth born? FDR was the only child from his father’s second marriage, but had an older half-brother from his father’s first marriage. So is he the oldest or the youngest? And if we consider him an only child, does he count as both the oldest and youngest?

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The Middle Child Conspiracy

     

     If you’re a Middle Child, you’ve long known there is a concentrated effort to keep us down. (If you’re not a Middle Child, you still know about it as you are probably part of the conspiracy!) Proof of this was evident again this morning on the Today Show. Psychiatrist and Today Show Contributor Dr. Gail Saltz was doing a piece about birth order. While talking about how wonderful first-borns were and what great leaders they make, she cited that over half of U.S. Presidents were first born. Well, I suppose that’s true –if you’re only counting first-born males!! When that statistic was figured, first-born females weren’t figured in as older siblings, according to Catherine Salmon and Katrin Schumann, co-authors of The Secret Power of Middle Children. The truth of the matter is 52 percent of U.S. Presidents were actually Middle Children!! Of course, we can argue whether or not that’s a good thing, but that’s not the point!! It’s just another example of how we always get the short end of the stick.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Guess the Middle Child...


One of these celebrities is a Middle Child. The other two have no excuse! 
Post your answer in the comments section.

"Everyone's Least Favorite Wine"

Help me come up with other tag lines for this. So far, I've got:

- "The Wine Everyone Loves to Hate";
- "America's Most Overlooked Wine";
- "The Wine for those who like to Whine";

and my personal favorite...

- "This wine is not as good as your sisters. It tastes like crap. Why can't you do anything right!?!"