16 things every oldest sibling knows to be true

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By Jessica Booth of INSIDER | < PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 17 NEXT SLIDE >

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• Being the oldest child in a family has some pros and cons.
• You may always be expected to be the responsible one.
• But there's a sense of protection over them that you don't have feel over anyone else.

Being the oldest child in a family can sound like a pretty good gig in theory: You're given a few younger siblings you can boss around whenever you want, you can pull the seniority card as needed, and you get the added bonus of knowing you had at least one year where you were given every single bit of attention your parents had. Sure, there are positives, but there are also a whole bunch of negatives. These are the things you can't really understand unless you're the oldest sibling.

Growing up as the oldest with a younger brother and younger sister, I have personally experienced every single one of the instances described below. There are times when I wish I could trade places with one of them, and times when I'm grateful I was born first.

Here are a few things every oldest sibling knows to be true.