From my own experiences and seeing my own friends' experiences, this birth order stuff seems to ring true.

I do have to add to one thing, though. It might be that parents are harder on Firsts because EVERYTHING with them is always new. I realized this once we had our second -- DD #1 will always be a challenge to us because we've never gone through raising a kid at whatever age she may be at the time. I.e., having a 4-year old has unique challenges that are new to us. We've never been here before with any kid. So, when DS #2 goes through it, even if he is a different kind of kid, it won't be as tough for us. With DD I err on the side of being strict simply because I don't know what the outcome would be if I let things slide. She's turning out great, so we feel like we can ease up a little on our little boy.