Understanding Your Child: Type 2 of 9

In this post, I discuss type 2 of 9 (Motivation: feel needed; Action Goal: give).   It is rare to come across a child with an obvious tendency toward a type 2 core personality.  Although many children enjoy ‘helping’ grownups, the type 2 child would stand out in her eagerness to be helpful and giving to other children on a day to day basis.  This child would act confident, and would be focused on other children with the expectation that she would be appreciated for her efforts.  Although grownups with a core 2 personality often do not act confident after years of unbalanced relationships, type 2 children will generally show a sense of pride in their role as giver.

If you are wondering whether a child you know is influenced by a type 2 personality, it may help to ask yourself these questions:
A.   Are they frequently focused on giving something to somebody?
B.   Are they confused when their offer to give is not accepted?
C.  Do they seem unclear on how to focus on themselves?
D.  Do they have little to say when asked about their own needs or feelings?
E.   Do they interpret not being allowed to give as not being liked?

All of these statements would be true for most 2 types.  As always, wings influence the core type, so there may be some minor exceptions.  Type 2 children, while acting with maturity, may need consistent guidance on issues related to boundaries.   If a child in your life is strongly influenced by a type 2 core personality, that child may benefit from frequent exploration of activities they personally enjoy and have the opportunity to choose on a consistent basis.  It may also be beneficial to support that child is discovering choices other than giving that are met with validation from adults and other children.