Where do you come in the family? First? Middle? Youngest? Does it matter? Inside New Zealand: Pecking Order investigates the importance of birth order, screening Thursday, February 16 at 8:30pm on 3. It can affect everything from your behaviour, health, education and income, and even your chances of a successful marriage. An understanding of birth order is seen by some as increasingly important in maintaining a happy, well-adjusted family. The order in which you are born within your family has a strong influence on the sort of person you become and the sort of life you’ll lead. Did you know, for example, that six out of the eight main party leaders who competed in the 2005 general election all shared the same birth order? Many lawyers, doctors, and high achieving professionals also share the same birth order. Pecking Order follows distinguished school principal Peter Clague on a fascinating journey on which he encounters a wide range of Kiwis who all display classic characteristics of their respective birth order. The documentary starts by putting Clague face to face with a room full of strangers and challenges him to identify their birth order based on a few clues about their occupation, educational achievements and first impressions of their personalities. His 20 years of teaching has given him a remarkable ability to ‘read’ characters; we test him on everyone from Campbell Live’s Carol Hirschfeld and her brother and sister, to Target’s Jeanette Thomas. There’s also a policeman, a nurse, a top footballer and a rock and roll playing student. Pecking Order also looks at recent psychological and health research conducted by New Zealand scientists and researchers. And we meet the family therapist from Hamilton who has an extraordinarily entertaining knack of expressing the essence of birth order. Tune in to the intriguing documentary which affects all of us, Inside New Zealand: Pecking Order, screening Thursday, February 16 at 8:30pm on 3. TV3's Carol Hirschfeld and Target's Jeanette Thomas share their stories as Inside New Zealand investigates the role birth order plays in our lives, and how being a first, second or third child can affect your future prospects.

3’s premiere, award-winning documentary series Inside New Zealand has returned for its 15th season of stories about people like us.