Understanding Your Child: Type 5 of 9

In this post, I discuss type 5 of 9

Core Motivation: feel important;

Action Goal: reveal what is important and true

Children strongly influenced by a type 5 core personality are very cerebral and analytical.  Their proudest moments involve some form of being proven ‘right.’  They will rarely concede in arguments with other children or with grownups.  They like learning and problem solving, and tend to have long attention spans that they use to stay on any mental task until they feel it is completed, leaving them extremely resistant to being interrupted.  Type 5 children enjoy communicating with grownups, and often feel that their peers do not understand them.  For children strongly influenced by a type 5 core personality, thinking can often feel more fun than playing.

If you are wondering whether a child you know is influenced by a type 5 personality, it may help to ask yourself these questions:

A.     Does it seem easy for the child to say exactly what he is thinking?

B.     Does the child persist in trying to understand new information until it makes sense to her?

C.     Does the child enjoy problem solving?

D.     Does the child put a high value on being right?

E.     Does the child thrive on opportunities to analyze information and think freely?
F.   Does the child strongly resist interruptions and distractions?

All of these statements would be true for most children influenced by a type 5 personality.  As always, wings influence the core type, so there may be some minor exceptions.  Type 5 children generally are very  eager to show how much they know.   If a child in your life is strongly influenced by a type 5 core personality, encouraging and valuing his or her independent thought process is one of the most effective ways to support that child’s self esteem and the relationship between you.