Did you know that the order you were born into a family can influence your personality and your relationships?

Find out which marriage combinations work best - and how yours compares - in this extract from Dr Kevin Leman's book, The Birth Order Connection. This advice applies to all other intimate relationships too.

Best Birth Order Marriages
Only child and youngest; first-born and youngest; middle child and youngest: Gender plays a role here as well. If you want the absolute best match, it's female only or first-born marrying a male youngest child who has older sisters. The last born with older sisters is going to be the sort of person who brings out the maternal instinct in women, and the oldest sister is likely to have great maternal urges. He would have grown up with girls who have doted on him. This is similar to the treatment he seeks in a wife, and the best place he'll find it is with an oldest sister. The match works both ways. The first-born needs someone to show her pleasures of sunsets, rainbows, and to remind her that it can be fun to let her mind wander and do something mad or different. The last-born needs someone to show him that while having fun is a wonderful thing, it takes hard work and perseverance to make those daydreams into reality.

First-born married to a first-born: This relationship is likely to be high friction - either butting heads from day one, or falling into a controller-pleaser pattern. It can be difficult to make this pairing work.

First-born married to a middle child: The danger here is that the middle-born may alter his or her own behaviour to please the first-born. While the middle one makes a good match for anyone (except, perhaps, for another middle), she may find the first-born to be somewhat intimidating and thus will need drawing out. If you marry a hard-driving first-born, you may be inclined to give up your own desires and dreams to please your more dominant, first-born spouse. However, if you have last-born tendencies, this can be a very good match for you.

First-born married to the last-born: This relationship is an excellent combination. First-born can teach last-born how to be better organised and that there are times when life must be taken seriously. The last-born teaches the first-born that it's okay to have fun once in a while.

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Birth order compatibility: Your best - and worst - matches for love

Birth order compatibility:
Your best - and worst - matches for love