The Middle Child's Thanksgiving Survival Guide

     The Holiday Season is officially here! That means it’s prime time for the inevitable slights and oversights the Middle Child experiences whenever the family gets together. With that in mind, I am raising the Middle Child Syndrome Advisory to HIGH from now through New Year’s. I also offer the following suggestions to help make your Thanksgiving if not a happy one, at least bearable.

DO NOT OVERREACT... when your Mother says she made your favorite Thanksgiving recipe, and you find out it was really one of your siblings’ favorite recipes.

TRY NOT TO WHINE... when you are seated at the “Kids Table” table. Again.
JUST SMILE... when your Father keeps bragging to everyone about your brother’s big promotion and what a great job your sister has, then asks, “What exactly is it that you do?”
DON’T BE DISAPPOINTED... that all your siblings got bigger slices of pie. And more leftovers to take home.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH... when you find out your vintage comic book collection has been discarded, and your childhood room had been turned into an extra closet.
EAT LOTS OF TURKEY... let the tryptophan kick in, and if you’re lucky you’ll pass out. When you awake, hopefully Thanksgiving will be over.

A Very Not-So-Merry Middle Child Christmas

     As the Holiday Season shifts into high gear, so does Middle Child Syndrome. It’s difficult to deal with on a normal day, but when the holidays roll around, things can get real ugly. Think about it -- controlling MCS can be a challenge when you’re with just your parents or some of your siblings. But when all your family is together, there’s no telling what may happen! Especially when gifts are involved. Birthday gifts are one thing. Birthdays are spread throughout the year, so comparing who got what can be more challenging. But on Christmas, it’s all right there in front of you. There’s no escaping it. And if you celebrate Chanukah, it can be 8 times worse! Trust me, no matter what you do, a Middle Child will find a way to conclude they got the worst gift. Even if you got everyone the same thing! That’s just the way we roll.

The Middle Child Syndrome Advisory
has been raised to CODE RED
for the holidays!

     In an effort to spread some Middle Child merriment and hopefully diffuse the situation, I offer up the following. First, here’s a link to a previous post: “Helpful Holiday Tips for Giving Gifts to a Middle Child.” Good luck with that. You should also check out the Smack Dab Shop for all the Middle Children on your list. The gift list, not that other list. Order now, and this year you might actually be able to make your Middle Child feel like -- the favorite! Now THAT would be a Christmas miracle. Finally, why not celebrate the season in true Middle Child style? Fire up the YouTube, gather ‘round the virtual fireplace, and enjoy that Middle Child Christmas classic, “The Middle Child’s Night Before Christmas.” Happy Holidays!

COMING SOON: Join me on “THE MID KID ROAD TRIP” as I LIVE Tweet my journey down the eastern seaboard with my IN-LAWS! Details to follow.

A Tale of Two Father's Days

It was the best of Father’s Days, it was the worst of Father’s Days….
     You might expect me to be raising the Middle Child Syndrome Advisory to its highest level for Father’s Day, just as I’ve done for most other holidays. After all, it is yet another opportunity for family to get together -- which means there’s always the potential for lifelong festering Middle Child issues to arise. So why am I not sounding the alarm? For Middle Children, Father’s Day can really be a double edged sword.
     If you, like me, are a Middle Child who is also a father, Father's Day can actually be a very good day -- a Middle Child’s dream come true. We get to be the center of attention for the entire day! It’s like a law. Everyone has to pay attention to us. (Well, at least my children have to. My wife refuses to submit. When I drop my heavy handed hints about what gifts I’d like, she’s quick to remind me, “You’re not my father!”) Oh well. Nevertheless, there's still a lot of mandatory attention to be had, and when you’re a Middle Child, you’ll take any kind of attention you can get -- even if it’s forced attention.