Quinlan
Right the First Time!
- MBTI
- ISFP
Now I'm thinking about this mostly in mbti terms. As parents and teachers people often think they are playing a crucial role in how that child will be as an adult. I'm making the assumption that type is inherent, we are born as that type and will always be that type, we can always grow within that personality be we will always be that personality.
We tend to see children as blank slates that through good parenting and educational practices can develop into whatever personality we wish. However perhaps we aren't blank slates, perhaps we are preprogrammed to a certain extent and any attempts to write over this program are essentially fruitless or more likely to cause confusion and harm to the child.
One example I am thinking of is spoiling a child, this is the idea that by spoiling a child they will grow into an adult with ever demanding needs. I was a fairly spoilt child, my parents had a fair bit of money and they spared no expense come christmas or birthdays, my fiance (esfj) on the other hand came from a fairly poor family and they could not and would not spoil her in any way. Now that we are both adults I am one of the least matierialistic people I know, I spend money only on neccessities and am usually happy with what I have. My fiance on the other hand is a big spender and she loves to spoil herself, she feels she is making up for lost time in a way and always feels a need for more everything.
Now it's my opinion that how we are as adults is much more of a reflection of our innate personality types than the methods used to bring us up. You can try and use all sorts of methods to teach children things like "the value of a dollar" but some will just get it as adults and some won't and I put that down to personality type.
Hmm I haven't fully worked this all out in my head yet, what do you think?
We tend to see children as blank slates that through good parenting and educational practices can develop into whatever personality we wish. However perhaps we aren't blank slates, perhaps we are preprogrammed to a certain extent and any attempts to write over this program are essentially fruitless or more likely to cause confusion and harm to the child.
One example I am thinking of is spoiling a child, this is the idea that by spoiling a child they will grow into an adult with ever demanding needs. I was a fairly spoilt child, my parents had a fair bit of money and they spared no expense come christmas or birthdays, my fiance (esfj) on the other hand came from a fairly poor family and they could not and would not spoil her in any way. Now that we are both adults I am one of the least matierialistic people I know, I spend money only on neccessities and am usually happy with what I have. My fiance on the other hand is a big spender and she loves to spoil herself, she feels she is making up for lost time in a way and always feels a need for more everything.
Now it's my opinion that how we are as adults is much more of a reflection of our innate personality types than the methods used to bring us up. You can try and use all sorts of methods to teach children things like "the value of a dollar" but some will just get it as adults and some won't and I put that down to personality type.
Hmm I haven't fully worked this all out in my head yet, what do you think?