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@chopsuey119: no, but I know a couple with only-child-syndrome and that's reinforced my decision to have at least 2!

I'm pretty sure I know one, but I blame it more on parenting & favoritism than her being the "middle".

I'm a classic middle child and I do suffer, at times, from MCS, but I can also attest that I have a unique perspective/experiences from being both an older and younger sister at the same time.

How would you define middle child syndrome? I'm the middle of 5 and I definitely had plenty of woe is me moments, thinking no one ever paid enough attention to me, but really, what teenager doesn't think that anyway? I think I'm better at getting along with a really broad range of personalities and better at compromising and negotiating than a lot of people, from being used to being in the middle and pulled in different directions.

But it worked out in my family that the two older girls were super close, and the two younger ones were, so it was really my brother, the oldest, who got left out! My fear with 3 kids, would be that two of them would be closer with each other than to the third, whichever order they were.

@Foodnerd81: I'm number 4 of 5, and I'm definitely closest with my younger sister!

Ugh, my sister right before me (#3) has the worst MCS. Seriously, it's awful.

Wait, what is MCS anyway? Is it feeling left out/forgotton? Or is it being naughty?

I know someone who had is BAD as a child but seems to have outgrown it. When we were younger it seemed like she had a lot of jealousy towards her younger sister but now they are best friends.

Ha, me! i'm the middle of two boys who can do no wrong. My parents totally favor my brothers, which makes it way worse (and no it's not just my MCS making me feel this way!)

What is MCS? I've never heard of it before

Urban dictionary (a super reputable source) defines Middle Child Syndrome as:
When a middle child - typically of a family of three kids who are close in age - feels left out or neglected.

Because the bigger sibling is the first born and typically an over-achiever, they are the most important and get the most privileges. A younger sibling is the 'baby' of a family and gets away with more as well as being the most looked-after. Middle-child syndrome starts when the middle child is squeezed between these two and have trouble finding their 'niche' in the family.

Middle children will sometimes...
-misbehave to get attention
-go with the flow
-work as little as possible
-be less parent-dependent then their siblings
-become the 'loner' of the family, not participate in family events unless told to.
-play the peacemaker
-be more likely to go to a friend for advice than a parent
-be very creative

In short its where the older child gets all the awards, the younger gets all the love, and the middle gets nothing.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Middle%20Child%20Syndrome

I am creative, go with the flow, and a peacemaker. I definitely did not misbehave for attention-- I was a goody goody or sneaky enough to not get in trouble!

@MrsCB: I don't think of that as middle child-- I think of it as youngest or only, if anything!

@Foodnerd81: LOL at 'super reputable source'!

@TheReelDeal: Oh, that makes sense.

DH was the middle, but definitely doesn't have MCS. He acts more like a first child, and the first acts more like the middle

I'm going to pretend this doesn't happen often because I want three kids

@foodnerd81, haha good! People always give us a side-eye when they find out we want three. Like the middle child is totally going to get shafted somehow. It's not like I want 8 kids!!

Oh yeah, this middle child stuff def. doesn't apply to my family. But none of the birth order stuff applies to us.

Don't feel bad about having 3!

My BIL.