Personality Types in Children

Every Child Holds a Different Personality
Anyone who has had children or has lived in a family with one or more sibling(s), would know that even though children or siblings have very similar DNA, it does not mean that they carry the same personality traits. Children develop into the person they choose to become. Children will carry either a passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive or assertive type of personality. These three personality types can describe a child as highly sensitive, self-absorbed or defiant. Parents also play a role in a child’s personality, challenging them to become more pleasant and open minded people. They can also teach them to be respectful and trust-worthy by showing them right from wrong and the proper way to correct their mistakes. A passive child is set off from the world. They believe that what they have to say does not matter, and allow their rights to be violated by failing to express their feelings. Passive children make little or no eye contact and speak in a low tone of voice. When asked questions they will often respond with, “I don’t know”, “Whatever you think”, “ I don’t care” , “ It doesn’t matter to me”…etc. A passive child is said, “To live in their own world.” They are difficult to excite and show little interest in things around them. Their facial expressions are often dull and in a class room setting they often have a difficult time staying on task (which is usually diagnosed as A.D.D.) An aggressive child is always right. They will protect themselves at the expense of others (not caring about another child’s feelings). As an aggressive child he/she wants to win at all costs, and never want to be told what he/she has done wrong. The child grows up thinking that he/she will always have his/her way. Aggressive children are loud and often belittling to others. They are manipulative, controlling and often use physical and verbal abuse. A passive-aggressive child fulfills their own rights initially then follows with manipulations and vengeance. Their goal is to avoid conflict, but then make the other person wish they had seen that their way was better. A passive-aggressive child takes the risk but then acts surprised when people become mad. He/she will behave passively to a person’s face but then act aggressively when they are not around and often use sarcasm. Children seem to care about the desires and needs of others, but actually passively resist them and become hostile and angry. When demands are put on a child for performance, he/she will respond with some form of passive resistance, such as procrastinating, dawdling, stubbornness, deliberate inefficiency, pretending to be forgetful and showing unreasonable criticism to people in authority. It has been said that a passive-aggressive personality in a child is the hardest to deal with and children will often be put on medication for their behavior.
An assertive child protects their own right without violating others. They look to find the solution to the problem and communicate with respect and understanding. Assertive children maintain eye contact, listen to others, are confident and strong, and ask for things in a respectful and clear manner. Of course in every parent’s eyes this is the, “perfect child.” But most children do not naturally hold this personality trait. It is the role of the parent that provides children with this form of personality. Discipline used in the proper way to correct a child behavior will make them more likely to grow and learn how to correctly act and respect others.
A highly-sensitive child usually carries a passive personality. They are sensitive and shy, and behave with caution and fear. During infancy, a sensitive baby dislikes change, and becomes very clingy when put into new situations. Sensitive babies will avoid being assertive and restrict their range of exploration. In their early years, children may have excessive fears and worries and display shyness when trying to form friendships and interact with new adults. During late childhood, the child may feel anxious or panicky and have mood swings. Sensitive children are often quite sensitive to the feelings of other people; they might say that they can "read" other people through their expressions, body language, and voice tone. Because sensitive children are so in with the world, they tend to focus on the details of what they see, hear, and experience. They are often described as “visual learners.”
A self-absorbed child is easy to bore, and will often show signs of being tired. As an infant, the child may seem quiet, sometimes even depressed and uninterested in exploring people or objects. Also the child may not respond quickly to touch, sound, or other stimuli. In early childhood a self-absorbed child may sit passively rather than explore their world. Unlike most toddlers they enjoy familiar routines. As they grow into an older child or teenager they appear to be rude, angry, and selfish. Self-absorbed children tend to like their own thought and fantasies more than the outside world and what is going on around them.
Defiant children are negative, stubborn, and controlling. They often do the complete opposite of what is asked of them. They have a lot of difficulty with transition and need repetition, or slow change to stay on track. They often show signs of being compulsive and when given a task extra time is needed, because they tend to be perfectionist. During the infant stage the child may be fussy, difficult, and resistant to changes in their routine. As a toddler, when negative behavior is common to all children, they tend to be even more angry, defiant, and stubborn than most children at that age. As the child reaches teenage years they become argumentative and are caught in “power struggles”. Defiant children use passive defenses as a coping strategy, or they try to avoid difficult situations.
There is not any two people who are alike, even identical twins (who have the same genetic make- up) have very different personalities. I believe children are born with a certain personality and as they grow older they respond to different situations that in a sense change their personality. They make themselves the person that they want to be. I also believe that the way children are raised by their parents plays a large roll. When parents teach their children right and wrong and the correct way to act in situations it allows the child to build their personality around what their parents say is right. And looking into the future will give the child a better chance of maturing into a more respectful adult.

RESOURCE
In high school I took a developmental psychology class my senior year. I retained a lot of information because I was so interested in the subject. For this paper I used notes and power points from that class which is drawn from the textbook: Developmental Psychology 7th edition written by David Shaffer.