These Are The Issues Youngest Daughters Bring Up The Most In Therapy

Therapists explain why these feelings can be so common and how to break free from them.

Senior Reporter, Work/Life

As the youngest daughter, you may get labelled as the baby of your family even long after becoming a grown adult.

“A youngest daughter may be simultaneously protected as the baby, expected to be emotionally accommodating as a daughter and discouraged from separating too far from the family,” said Linda Yoon, a therapist and founder of Yellow Chair Collective, which specialises in multicultural therapy.

And this infantilising label can have consequences. While eldest daughters often get saddled with adult responsibilities too early, youngest daughters can also deal with family obligations they never asked for or wanted.

“In therapy, youngest daughters often come in struggling with independence, self-trust, boundaries,” Yoon said.

Here are the most common issues youngest daughters talk about in therapy, according to therapists – along with tips on how to break free from these birth order expectations:

They deal with learned helplessness.

“Youngest daughters may grow up with parents and older siblings constantly advising, correcting, protecting or deciding for them,” Yoon said. “Even when this comes from love, it can quietly communicate: ‘Other people know better........

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