The speaker challenges the stereotypes related to birth order by reflecting on their own experience of effectively growing up as an only child due to a significant age gap with their siblings. They question the validity of strong intuitions about oldest, youngest, and middle children, emphasizing that research outcomes are more reliable when based on children's responses rather than on people's stereotypes or intuitions.
Why have fertility rates dropped so dramatically? Do fathers or mothers get more happiness from parenting? And how does birth order affect a child’s future?