Good News For Kids Stuck in the Middle on Long Car Trips!

Children who get stuck sitting in the middle seat of the car on long family road trips are said to be more successful.

A survey from Skoda Octavia, the car manufacturer, claims that this experience from an early age, gives them the drive and determination to do well in business when they grow up!

The study of 1,000 adults with two or more siblings were asked where they had sat in the car as a child.

The survey found that 90 per cent of those at director level had sat in the middle back seat as youngsters.

So too did almost three out of four adults who now run their own businesses and 62 per cent of those who would describe their jobs as “senior management”.

80 per cent of those asked were convinced that having to suffer through the discomfort of sitting in the middle seat in the car was linked to their later success in their career and their business, according to the study.

Some 44% describe themselves as easy going, while 28% say they are reasonable, 25% patient and 21% level-headed. Incredibly, 80% of middle seat children attribute their success to their car position as a youngster.

Laverne Antrobus, a consultant child psychologist, agreed saying, “Cars are a unique environment and a lot can be revealed when everyone is sitting together in a confined space.

“It’s fascinating to see how a seating position in the back of the car, often over many years, can directly reflect or influence our personalities.

“Whether middle seat children were made to sit there or not they seem to develop positive traits which prove to be of real value to them as adults, and often, interestingly, in their careers.”

Where did you always sit in the car?

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23 Comments

- - mom486197 said
  - 04 Oct 2023
    2:40 pm
What an interesting read. I always sat on the left side of the car. Hardly ever sat in the middle seat.

- - mom129591 said
  - 06 Jul 2019
    9:50 pm
On the window side of the car is where I sat. Interesting article.

- - serotonin said
  - 02 Jun 2019
    3:24 pm
All I know is it can help with car sickness. My cousin got car sick so she got to sit in the middle when we went to the snow with our grandparents and my brother. I got car sick and spent the whole time feeling very crook after throwing up when we got to the top. I guess she was more important. haha

- - mom91814 said
  - 01 Jun 2019
    5:48 am
I always sit my youngest son in the middle seat

- - mom81879 said
  - 07 May 2019
    4:35 pm
My dad always sat in the middle in the back, between my sister and me. Mum drove and my brother was next to her. I remember my brother always put his youngest kid in the middle for safety reasons. Didn’t make much sense to me, but that’s how he saw it

- - P&M'smum said
  - 24 Apr 2019
    12:06 am
I wonder where I’d fit in as an only child in this scenario…

- - mom93821 said
  - 11 Apr 2019
    6:41 am
How do these studies get approval and funding?

- - littlehandsofmine said
  - 10 Apr 2019
    6:21 am
Well I am an only child so what does that say about me?

- - mom343701 said
  - 10 Apr 2019
    4:34 am
very interesting read, I wonder how big their sample really was

- - mom265671 said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    10:57 pm
Hmm always find it strange how they come to these conclusions

- - MisChip said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    10:54 pm
I think this is ridiculous… and this is coming from a middle seat child. It’s always the youngest/smallest child that has to sit in the middle and I would suggest that it isn’t always the youngest who is the most successful.

- - Mum2archer said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    10:07 pm
Me and my sister would sit as far away from each other as possible and with pillows down the middle as a barrier haha

- - country chick said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    9:42 pm
Yes I was a middle seat child! Let the success begin

- - MumOfSisters_ said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    8:07 pm
I was a middle-seat victim. But I gotta say, my negotiating skills are 10/10 and I have the ability to block out whinging/annoyingness.

These learnt middle-seat skills have come in handy, in particular for Motherhood ????

- - mom338747 said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    5:06 pm
yeh unsure if any of this is true

- - ashna9 said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    3:47 pm
Who even thought to conduct this type of study?
- mom93821 replied
  
  12 Apr 2019 , 6:26 am
  It make me wonder too!!
- - DaffyD said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    2:54 pm
When the information is provided by a car manufacturer I hardly think it’s reliable

- - BellaB said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    2:21 pm
I don’t know – this seems unlikely, really.

- - Ellen said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    2:18 pm
I always sat in the middle because I was the smallest and yes it was uncomfortable, I always had a sore bum !

- - mom90758 said
  - 09 Apr 2019
    1:13 pm
Generally I was sitting at the window. My smallest sister in the middle.