How 'overlooked' middle children triumph in the end

被忽視的家中老二長大后最有出息

According to the stereotype, they are usually overshadowed and overlooked.

在人們的印象中，排行中間的孩子常常生活在家里其他孩子的陰影之下或被忽視。

But middle children are more likely to grow up to become successful and well-adjusted adults, a study has claimed.

但有研究表明：排行中間的孩子，長大后更易取得成功且更有適應能力。

Far from being apathetic or withdrawn, researchers found that a middle child’s place in the family helps them develop negotiation and communication skills.

研究表明，排行中間并不會令他們感情冷淡或孤獨離群，相反，他們在家庭中所處的位置更有利于協商談判和溝通交流能力的發展。

Psychologist Catherine Salmon claims that middle siblings are more likely to ‘become agents of change in business, politics and science’ – a conclusion that high-profile middle children such as Madonna and Bill Gates would probably support.

心理學家凱瑟琳·薩爾蒙稱，排行中間的孩子更可能“成為商業經理人，政客和科學家”——麥當娜和比爾蓋茨等名人可能會贊同這一說法，因為他們也是家里排行中間的孩子。

And they are also more likely to be faithful spouses, have the drive to succeed in the workplace and be motivated by fairness.

不僅如此，排行中間的孩子會在婚姻關系中更加忠誠，在工作中更為努力的獲取成功，對公平有更高的要求。

Professor Salmon, who reviewed dozens of studies into the effect of birth order for her book The Secret Power of Middle Children, said: ‘As children, middles have to wait a lot. Modern middles wait while their younger sibling is loaded into the car seat.

薩爾蒙教授在完成《排行中間孩子的神秘力量》一書時，對幾十個家庭進行了跟蹤研究，以探知家中排行會對孩子成長產生何種影響。她發現：“排行中間的孩子經常需要等待。等父母先把弟弟妹妹在汽車座位上安置好。”

'They wait while the firstborn performs in the recital. They wait to be served at the dinner table and complimented for their hard work in school. Middles are accustomed to not getting what they want right away.

家中長子登臺演出時，他們等待自己有一天也登上舞臺。在餐桌上，他們要等待，父母表揚孩子們在學校里的表現時，首先提到的也不是他們的名字。他們習慣于不會立即得到想要的東西。

'They learn the art of delayed gratification, and this helps them later in life.'

“他們很早就學會了延誤滿足的藝術，這對他們以后的生活很有幫助。”

However, the picture isn’t all rosy, as Professor Salmon also found that middle children report feeling more distant from their parents and are more likely to be easily influenced by their friends.

然而，排行中間帶來的并不全是好處，薩爾蒙教授還發現：排行中間的孩子與父母的關系更為疏遠，且更容易受到朋友的影響。

She added: ‘Middles get less time, attention and resources from their parents, and they often suffer from this. But this suffering seems to be short-lived.

她補充道：“家長在排行中間的孩子身上投入的時間、精力和資源都比較少，這會讓孩子們感到困擾。但這種困擾并不長久。”

‘As is abundantly clear, this lack of attention can lead to the development of some extremely useful skills.’

“毫無疑問，缺乏關注會造成孩子某些重要技能發展的缺失。”