Understanding Your Child: Type 1 of 9

Anyone who spends time with children knows that they experience life differently from grownups.   As their brains process the constant influx of new information, their personalities continue to develop in various directions that help define skills, interests, perspective and temperament.  There are different opinions as to whether core personality is fully formed at birth, or is influenced by environmental factors.  Regardless, as young personalities move through developmental stages, it may be difficult to clearly identify a core personality type.  
 

That said, I still think it can be very helpful to notice certain Enneagram personality markers in a young child.  As a parent, I need all the clues I can get, and the Enneagram can offer some valuable ones.  This next series of posts will progress through the 9 personality types as they apply to children.  In this post, I discuss type 1 of 9 (Motivation: feel safe; Action Goal: make the world right).  

Children with a tendency toward a type 1 core personality feel safest when life is highly consistent and predictable.  They generally feel stressed in times of transition and when unexpected events or circumstances arise.  Like their grownup counterparts, they prefer structure, rules, a clear ‘right’ way to live and do things.  Children influenced by a type 1 personality generally find it challenging to talk about feelings (theirs or anyone else’s.)  It is important to understand that the linear thought process of type 1 personality children is not likely to be positively influenced by pressure to change.  Helping the type 1 child process emotional experience involves baby steps that begin with helping the child find safety in his/her own body.

If you are wondering whether a child you know is influenced by a type 1 personality, it may help to ask yourself these questions:

A.   Do they like routine?

B.   Do they tend to be organized?

C.  Are they very bothered when things do not go as planned?

D.  Do they often seem inflexible?

E.   Do they try to avoid change?

F.   Do they seem confused when asked to talk about feelings?

G.  Do they thrive on adult validation?

H.  Does the term “perfectionist” suit them?

All of these statements would be true for most children influenced by a type 1 personality.  As children develop, the personality wings evolve in relation to the core personality, making it possible for different parts of the personality to surface in different ways at various points of development.  

If you have regular contact with a type 1 child, it might help to understand that they are driven by the need to feel safe.  Just as with adults, the overwhelming threat of an ever-changing world puts 1 types in a constant state of self-preservation that translates into what many interpret as perfectionist behavior.