How is the formation of personality in a child?

This stage in the life of the child is a great unknown by adults. It is considered as a kind of starting point in life , linked to changes and in many ways to relationships with parents.

When can we say that the child is aware of himself as a person?

Psychologists have identified a number of important criteria to find out:

Make full use of personal pronouns.
He is capable, even at the simplest level, of describing himself (appearance, character…), to talk about his emotions, motives and problems with others.
They have self-control skills , therefore, if the child in question continues to have tantrums, it is likely that they have not reached that full phase of consciousness and personality development.
He has a basic understanding of what is “good” and “bad” and is capable of giving up bad things for good in his momentary wishes for the greater good.

Age and personality formation of the child

desarrollo de la personalidad en niños

At what age, more or less, has a child formed his personality? Based on the criteria mentioned above, it becomes clear that no earlier than 2 years of age, and usually after he has learned to speak, by which time the child will be able not only to share his thoughts with others but also to reflect on your actions. Psychologists generally point to the age of 3 as the most significant moment associated with the formation of a child’s self-awareness . At the same time, at 4-5 years he is already fully aware of himself as a person who has certain characteristics and who has “built” himself on the basis of the relationships with the outside world that he has had.

Raising a baby under 1 year should be based solely on creating optimal conditions for their physical, intellectual and emotional development . Excessive limits and moral assumptions of conduct are not effective at this age. After a year, you can and should begin to become familiar with certain social and ethical norms, but they require immediate compliance, that is, if the child hits the pet, we must explain that this is not done because it hurts at the moment, and don’t wait for it to happen again to see if it changes its behavior.

After the child reaches 2 years of age, we can establish more rules for him, and after the age of 3, we have the obligation to enforce all of them.

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The role of parents in the formation of the child’s personality

The formation of the child’s self-esteem or his value system, which are the important components of the personality, largely depends on the parents. And here are some rules that child psychologists recommend parents to follow, so that the child over time does not face problems related to the perception he has of himself or the attitude of those around him.

Create adequate self-esteem . Never compare the child with others, neither for the worse nor for the better. This usually happens almost always with the comparison of the personal qualities of the same. If we really want to calm the child when he is having a tantrum, saying: “Easy, you are a very calm child and you behave well, right?”, Is not the same as saying: “Look how the other child behaves and how good it is ”. The child has to understand that he is valuable in himself, and not in comparison to other children. If you want to compliment him on his good behavior by saying that he is very smart or very good, do so without the use of degrees of comparison.
Encourage communication . Providing the child with opportunities to interact with other children and adults will make him learn to socialize with others, acquiring his own experience of learning the rules of behavior in society.
Teach you ethics and morals . Explain in detail what the ethical principles are, such as being “honest”, “fair”, “good”, “bad”, etc. It will be the basis of your interaction and social formation later as a person.