Personality includes all those characteristics that identify us as individuals, and that are of a psychic nature, so they have a marked influence on the way in which we process our emotions, thoughts and behaviors.
Babies, when they are very young, do not recognize themselves as independent people and alien to mom. It is not until around eight months of age that they begin to perceive themselves as independent from their mothers.
This process begins to consolidate around two years of age, at which time it is possible to speak of the beginning of the configuration of the child’s personality , when he understands himself as an individual and begins to create a concept of himself, influenced by his experiences and interactions with others.
However, there are nuances in the nomenclature; one thing is personality (already formed, when children are older), and another is temperament (during the first years of life; temperament is much more biological than personality). We talked about how the child’s personality is built and the weight of genetics and the environment.
“Self-image is the key to personality and human behavior. To change one’s image is to change one’s personality and behaviour”.
-Maxwell Maltz-
The child’s personality: how it is configured and what weight environment and genetics have
To date, studies have not yet reached 100% agreement regarding the % of genetics and the % of the environment in the configuration of personality, although they do speak of approximate figures; Thus, approximately 50% depends on what we experience (experiences and environment), and the other 50% on our biological base .
And it is that the configuration of the personality is not an immediate and systematic process, since it is a development that occurs over time in which many factors influence, so it is wrong to assert that personality is an entity whose origin is due to a single scope.
Then the most accurate thing would be to establish that personality and its development respond to the quality of the person as a biopsychosocial being in which various instances interact, influencing each other.
The genetic load and biology
Starting from this approach we can find that there are factors inherent to the biology of the child, that is, their chromosomes and all their genetic load that influences what their personality will be like.
How the child interprets reality
Added to this are the psychological aspects, which refer to the child’s own thoughts and emotions, in addition to the perception that the child may have about the events they are experiencing.
Here we can also include the type of attachment that the child has developed with their caregivers and that, to a large extent, will determine their personality.
“The variety of individual personalities is the greatest fortune in the world.”
-Julian Huxley-
Social factors and interactions
There are also social factors, which encompass all types of interactions with other people, the environment in which children grow up (physically, emotionally, mentally, etc.), the education received and the parenting style, etc.
Self-concept and self-esteem: essential in personality
On the other hand, self-concept and self-esteem are also important elements for the development of personality, coming to determine to a large extent how the child will be, feel, think and behave in the future, so special attention must be paid to them and as parents, promote a healthy self -concept and good self-esteem.
atmosphere and personality
The place where a child grows up, that is, a part of his environment, influences his personality. With this we refer not only to your close environment such as family, but also to friends and even your school and any other space where you spend time, such as clubs, sports practices, among others.
The environment has a great influence on the development of the personality and individuality of each child, having a great share of responsibility for it. We are then talking about different instances that we will call environments.
different types of environment
Among these are, as we have mentioned, the environment in its physical quality, that is, those who surround the child (mainly mom and dad) and take care of him; the emotional environment, referring to the support and security given to the child ; the mental environment, which are the thoughts, and the social environment that refers to the interaction with third parties.
In this sense, it is also important to highlight the value of morality in the development of children’s personality, as well as the beliefs that are transmitted by other family members and that can be highly influential.
“The knowledge of our past is essential for the establishment of our personality and our identity”.
-Haile Selassie-
The weight of genetics in personality
There is a very important component that determines to a certain extent the personality of the child: genetics. It is about all those hereditary qualities that they obtain from their father and mother, and that can be highly influential in their development.
These types of characteristics are innate, that is, children are born with them and cannot be changed. They predispose to a certain extent the personality of the child, and among these we can mention the temperament, which plays a primary role in the motivation that one has and can even predispose to different emotional states.
Some children may have tendencies to develop a personality similar to mom or dad, and even similarities can be seen with other members of the family, but these traits can be noticed to a greater or lesser extent depending on the interaction between other dimensions such as psychological areas. and social.
The wonderful complexity of personality
As you can see there are many factors that play a fundamental role in the development of the personality of children, and it is not just random qualities.
It therefore includes biological, psychological, physical and social components that are in constant interaction with each other .
It is impossible to determine the personality of a child, since its configuration is greatly influenced by many aspects, some inherent to children and others acquired. However, by paying attention to these components we can establish some projections of how it will be .
Stable environment, healthy personality
In addition, we can help our children develop a healthy personality by offering them a stable environment in which secure affective bonds can be generated (type of secure attachment), and also helping them to strengthen their self-esteem and create a positive self-concept (the self-concept or self-knowledge).
Photos | Cover (Freepik)
