I find myself as a child very similar to Girl America's son.
-self-motivated
-quiet, but polite
-liked to read
-I enjoyed legos, board games, rollerblading, swimming, soccer
-procrastinator (but like GA said, it's all filed away up in my head...it just needs to be put on paper)
-weird people either frightened me a little or I just shrugged my shoulders and was like, "Hmmm that's weird." (it depended on whether or not I felt threatened)
- I owned my brothers and sister (I was always in control)
- I am completely organized in my own disorganized way. It makes sense to me, I know where my things are, so do not touch them because you will ruin my system!...lol. I'm weird with messy things. I prefer clean and neat, but I'm pretty flexible there. I come from a large, messy family, so it's an accepted part of my life. However, when I lived away from home my place was clean.
- I'm very persistent and unrelenting when I'm arguing about something passionately
- I hate big life changes (especially if they are unexpected)...they still bother me.
- Social pressure was not much of an issue for me. I was always kind of a loner and did my own thing. I always managed to find a few really good friends along the way though. Many of my relationships with other introverts are like 50/50 leading, whereas I tend to follow the lead of extroverts if I like them.
Thinking back, my parents rarely disciplined me. I knew exactly what was expected of me, and I did it. I knew one day I would move out and have my own place, so I would go to my parents for advice when I needed it and asked for responsibility so I would be prepared for "the real world" when the time came...this was helpful in my teens, and was probably a way to get myself prepared for accepting the inevitable changes in the future. Around the time I started college was when we started to butt heads a bit. I really never fight with my parents all that much. We'll debate things, and I'd say on average I have 1-2 explosive arguments with my dad per year. We scream and bicker...I walk away (because I don't like conflict and fighting with my dad...I really respect him quite a bit) and then I don't speak to him for 2-3 days or so while I cool off and then we reach a compromise and move on like nothing happened.
Something else that you might like to know as a parent. ISTJ's respect consistency very much. My mom is very inconsistent and lenient as a parent, and therefore I had little respect for her while growing up. If I wanted, I could have walked all over her. My dad on the other hand, when he said something, he meant it, and I knew I better do it. He didn't let me take advantage and manipulate my way out of my responsibilities. The things he taught me, the opportunities for responsibility he gave me, and the consistency he had in discipline stayed with me throughout life. I suppose this is applicable for children of any type, but I think ISTJ's really need to see their parents take responsibility...if the ISTJ child is more responsible than the parent then the ISTJ will lose respect, and frankly will come to the understanding that they are more powerful and influential than the parents. Once they lose that respect, you have almost no hope of regaining it.