Type a child?

[stevENTj]

To my mind, type is inherent and present from birth, but it unfolds as the person's life unfolds, and it is supported/unsupported and affected by the environment.

I would imagine that with some children, type is easier to spot, and that the older they get, the more it becomes evident. I don't think my child could have been typed on this forum when he was three. Not because he had no type, but because it wasn't yet enough in evidence. So my question arose because I wondered: At what point is enough of the child's personality in play for typing to become possible? I've been mulling this over lately and thought this thread might help me to answer that question.

That's a big reason for my continued interest in Socionics -- parenting.

My daughter is 3-1/2 and she exhibits A LOT of and , so I'm pretty darned sure she's a Gamma-SF. I noticed very early on that she had insanely good physical space awareness, and did great with shapes and colors, which is probably mostly . It's also apparent via VI that she's got strong . The in the past year has come on strong. Before that I was wondering if she was maybe SLE, but I think she's most likely ESI right now, identical to my wife, and yet another activity for me, or possibly SEE. Is it any wonder I'm so tired all the time?

My son is 19 months. Too soon to tell much, but he's probably closer to me in personality and less like my wife. Not nearly as good physical space awareness, but has always been intensely curious about how things work. There's things he's figured out how to work or use that our daughter still hasn't, so clearly a different preference for functions. Add some VI into the mix and I think he might actually be an type, maybe SLI? But my folks say he's almost an exact carbon copy of me when I was his age both in terms of behavior and also looks, so maybe he's an ILI like his old man.

[golden]

That's a big reason for my continued interest in Socionics -- parenting.

My daughter is 3-1/2 and she exhibits A LOT of and , so I'm pretty darned sure she's a Gamma-SF. I noticed very early on that she had insanely good physical space awareness, and did great with shapes and colors, which is probably mostly . It's also apparent via VI that she's got strong . The in the past year has come on strong. Before that I was wondering if she was maybe SLE, but I think she's most likely ESI right now, identical to my wife, and yet another activity for me, or possibly SEE. Is it any wonder I'm so tired all the time?

My son is 19 months. Too soon to tell much, but he's probably closer to me in personality and less like my wife. Not nearly as good physical space awareness, but has always been intensely curious about how things work. There's things he's figured out how to work or use that our daughter still hasn't, so clearly a different preference for functions. Add some VI into the mix and I think he might actually be an type, maybe SLI? But my folks say he's almost an exact carbon copy of me when I was his age both in terms of behavior and also looks, so maybe he's an ILI like his old man.

Cool! I really am glad I'm not the only one here who has a kid/kids and sees Socionics as a way to (among many other things) be a more effective parent. I knew early on that my son was like me in some ways (P) but not in others, and maybe as I learn more about Socionics, type will be easier for me to see in younger and younger children. I mean, put a bunch of five-year-olds together and you see how starkly different their personalities already are. And how some fare very well in certain environments and with certain adults, and others ... um, don't.

And since I'm not married now, I also think that it's good for me to understand that if I eventually re-partner, of the types I would do well with, some will affect my son more positively than others ... All the good intentions in the world may not be able to overcome a major mismatch; I certainly experienced that when my parents remarried. :\

[golden]

Your son looks EXTp to me. From your description ENTp seems more likely though.

Here is a Myers Briggs link to personality type portraits for children which I have found to be quite useful:
Kids' Personality Portraits

Thank you, Goldilocks. Yeah, I don't think he could be ESTp. I'll take a look at the linked material.