LIFE

There’s no doubt about it—being the oldest sibling is tough. Sure, there are some *awesome* benefits of being the first kid in your family, but TBH there are also a lot of times you have it the hardest. Here are some things every oldest sib can definitely relate to: 

You can’t get away with anything.
You were the first child your parents had, which means that your parents had a lot more rules for you growing up. On top of that, now you have a younger sibling watching everything you do and reporting back to your parents.

Every embarrassing moment of your childhood is captured in photos.
Your siblings got off easy, that's for sure, because as the first, your parents documented everything you did in pictures. And we mean *everything*. There are probably some moments you’d rather forget that are, unfortunately, memorialized forever in family scrapbooks and photo albums (like you naked in the bathtub...ugh).

Sometimes, you miss getting all the attention. 
Even if it was just for a few years, you were once an only child. Yes, you love your siblings—but that doesn’t stop you from daydreaming about basking in your parents’ complete, undivided attention back in the good old days. 

You’re used to being copied... 
For better or worse, your younger sibs look up to you, and with that comes the inevitable copycatting. You play softball? Your sister joins a rec. team. Your favorite color is blue? Your brother wears only blue shirts for a year straight. Might as well take it as a compliment.

...and seeing your sis wear your old clothes. 
This one’s definitely not a negative. There's no hand-me-downs for you (although you're a little envious of the size of your younger sibs' closets). You might not love that unicorn shirt you thought was so great when you were 7 anymore but your little sister does, and that makes you happy.

Your family has unrealistic expectations for you.
You’re the first one to do everything, so your parents expect ridiculous results. But with your siblings, messing up in school, sports or anything else is not as big a deal.

Your parents were way more strict with you.
Remember how you couldn’t see PG-13 movies until you were *actually* 13 or stay up past midnight ever? That doesn’t apply to your siblings. So unfair.

You’re expected to be the responsible one.
You have to set a good example for your siblings. Does the phrase, “They’re younger so they don’t know any better” sound familiar? 

You wish you’d had a cool older sib like yourself to teach you things.
You’ve got to admit, you’re such a super cool older sibling that you’re sometimes jealous of your siblings. You teach them everything they know, and you wish you’d had someone doing the same for you when you were their age.

Seeing your younger sibling do something the way you taught them is the *best* feeling in the world.
Knowing that you helped your sibling master kicking field goals for the big game or gave them important first day of school pointers feels amazing. You did that.

GL girls: What do you think are the best and worst things about being the oldest sib? Comment down below!

Photo credit: Daily Mail, GIPHY.

by Emily Cavanagh | 1/17/2018