Personality Development Begins in the Cradle

Most of us have heard family and friends look at a baby and say “wow she not only looks like her father but behaves like him too.” Always play the role of a mirror in your child’s life. This forms one of the most essential elements of personality development in children. It is the personality of the parents that a child is first exposed to. So to be better parents you would need to take a deep look at yourselves.

To some extent this is true, of course babies have inborn personality traits, some are friendly, while others are clingy; some respond to change, while others wail and so on.

The other day a trainer I know was talking about how anxious youngsters are to develop a winning personality. Many consider personality development in children a must for “success in life.” Personally I shudder at the thought of a world that is filled with “robotic” personalities.

Give the child lots of love and understanding. Build deep trust and bonds. This will help develop the child’s personality in a well-rounded way. Personality development in children refers to a process where a child’s personality is groomed and enhanced. The grooming of the child’s personality is done in such a way to bring some positive changes in his life to make him a better person.

Personality development in children is a gradual process. Parents need to be patient and have realistic expectations from their children.

Note the In-Born Personality Traits

Some babies display their demanding nature from day one. My grandson made his father carry him and walk up and down all night long on day one.

Now at nine months he knows what he wants and points at which direction he would like to go. Parents need to be vigilant and be role models for their children.

Experts Opine that Babies are Born with Certain Personality Traits

• Some are calm and quiet while others like meeting challenges and plenty of activity (they seem to have ants in their pants);
• Some have a cyclic routine for hunger, sleep, and bodily functions while others change each day;
• Many are shy and will not even smile at neighbors and yet others are outgoing, jumping out of your arms .

Be an Observant Parent and Make a Note of Your Babies Personality

1. A leader or follower,
2. A brooder or sunshine personality,
3. Attentive or distracted,
4. Willful or easy to handle,

The list of possibilities is endless. Once you know your little one, you can think about their personality development by honing the strengths and working on weaknesses. Remember babies are ever-changing, so you need to be vigilant. Babies learn from their caregivers and parents and constantly change.

Parental Role is Crucial for Personality development in Children

The first “skills trainer” is the baby’s mother followed by the father and other family members. From their earliest days one needs to observe baby’s behavior and take gentle steps to change certain traits. Always remember it’s a baby you are dealing with and not a business-school aspirant.

Examples:

1. If your baby is shy around newcomers, make small efforts to teach the baby to be friendly. Sit near the visitor and if you can hold the person’s hand or play a small game with the person, you could ask the person to hold a toy and then hold out your hand and ask for the toy holding your baby’s hand in yours.

2. Similarly if your baby is strong-natured and willful make efforts to distract the baby so that he or she does not “win” by crying or throwing a mini tantrum. Play and gentle persuasion are ideal ways to deal with baby personalities. Learn to be firm and the baby needs to understand that you are the pack leader. Once leadership is established it is much easier to teach a baby the nuances of “yes and no.”

Read more about parents’ roles in developing a child’s personality in our post: Personality Development Tips to be Better Parents

Conclusion – Personality Development in Children

Aim to build trust, establish bonds and love, these are keys to great parenting. Personality development begins in the cradle.

While talking about personality development in children, one must mention the emotional development in children as well. Emotions play a major (and a very important) role in this context. The development of various emotions in a child is part of his personality development.

A loving relationship between the mother and child helps in developing the personality of the child in a warm and affectionate way. Though mothers are very particular in this regard, a sincere realization regarding the same makes a lot of difference.

Seeds sown in the cradle will shape the personality of a baby, however a word of caution, please refrain from stamping out their individuality.