What does your birth order say about you?

>> this morning on "today's 5 facts," the truth about your birth order. is your older brother a perfectist, those traits could be due to where you fall in the lineup. good morning.

>> good morning.

>> it does make a difference.

>> it does make a difference. research has shown it makes a difference. not the kind of difference that says the temperament that you're born with or the parenting that you get are all kinds of environmental factors and all kinds of things request switch it up. are there stepchildren, adopted children, big spacing between children? research shows this definitely makes a difference.

>> okay. so, let's start at the top , the best.

>> okay.

>> the oldest child. so does being a leader among your siblings transileana ros-lehtinener in life?

>> it seems to, absolutely. apparently over half of all of u.s. presidents were first born. first borns are definitely -- feel like the leaders, their parents look to them to be leaders, so it absolutely enhances that. it actually also makes some potentially more reliable and more conscientious on the upside. on the downside, perfectionistic, a little more rigid and more difficult to move on things. so they can be aggressive. they tend to be people pleasers at the same time. so you see, you know, newscasters and anchors are often first borns.

>> walter cronkite , peter jennings , dan rather ,ed to coppel.

>> phil donahue .

>> hirldo rivoira.

>> al roker .

>> they are leaders and assert themselves looking to please.

>> that's our al.

>> go to take care of the others.

>>> meanwhile, the middle child, not sure i'm liking this description. how do they differ from the older siblings?

>> they tend to be more secretive. doesn't mean they are totally underground, but because they are not the leaders and because they are not the babies, they often feel kind of stuck in the middle .

>> that's me.

>> and in that they may keep their feelings to themselves, and they may in fact not turn to parents as much but turn to peers which actually makes them very engaged with their peers potentially. they often have strong friendships, and they often read people well because they are very focused on what's going on.

>> pretty good at reading people.

>> you think?

>> i think so.

>> peacekeeper, i'll take that.

>> you're flexible.

>> independent, inventive.

>> inventive.

>> independent.

>> those are all good things.

>> some of the other things, my older sister. my little sister is somewhere in there, too.

>> but as the research shows, the youngest child is pure joy and a delight?

>> and a delight.

>> to themselves.

>> you are a delight, but maybe babies are babies, and that makes them usually the most financially irresponsible. i am not saying that you are a spendthrift and you are bankrupting your home.

>> no.

>> but i am saying that babies do tend to be a little more on the spoiled side because they keep being treated as the baby.

>> let's focus on the positive.

>> the positive is they are also very social, also very outgoing, and they are often the big entertainers of the family.

>> strong sense of humor.

>> big entertainers, so we see a lot of comedians end up being --

>> does it affect how you parent?

>> actually it does. it carries through all the way so the parent -- the person that you were in your family, you tend to see that child in your own family the same way you see yourself, so it does affect how you parent very much so.

>> really interesting.

>> fascinating.

>> i like that.

>> thank you, people-pleasers.