Timing is everything?

[Littlelostnf]

Personality page has an online survey for parents to try to figure out their child's type. Here is the link

http://www.personalitypage.com/cgi-local/build_pqk.cgi

[cafe]

This is basically what my father taught me. He too is a professional.

Mind you though I know that for one Cafe has typed her children and seems to be fairly sure of most of them. Personally I trust her judgement and she has not wavered much at all. As such perhaps it is possible to type people younger than the 16 kinda ballpark but perhaps you need to be exposed to more of their responses than the test will allow for and that the age helps a person coalesce around their primary preferences?

I consider my kids' types best guesses for now. My oldest daughter, whom I think is an INTJ, could be INTP, INFJ, or even ISTJ. My younger daughter strikes me as an INFP and I'm pretty sure that she's a NF, but she could be an SF. I think my older son is an ESTJ, and I'm pretty sure about the SJ, but he could be any kind of J. My youngest son strikes me as an INTP (SO much like his dad), but could be any type of T.

They don't any of them have to fit a particular mold, other than I want them all to be reasonably honest and decent human beings. I enjoy observing them and trying to figure out who they are. It's also fun to see myself, my husband, and other family members in the way they look and act, as well as the traits that make you wonder "Where the heck did that come from??"

When I talk about MBTI, my oldest daughter's eyes glaze over. With my younger daughter I will say something like, "You and I are like this, but not everybody is that way." My sons are really too young to bother talking to them about it at all much now. I do worry about my older son, though. He has a "normal" personality, but he also has autism and he is being raised by a bunch of INs. I worry that we will warp him and make it hard for him to fit in like he may want to some day, sort of like if he were being raised by wolves.

[Littlelostnf]

When I talk about MBTI, my oldest daughter's eyes glaze over. With my younger daughter I will say something like, "You and I are like this, but not everybody is that way." My sons are really too young to bother talking to them about it at all much now. I do worry about my older son, though. He has a "normal" personality, but he also has autism and he is being raised by a bunch of INs. I worry that we will warp him and make it hard for him to fit in like he may want to some day, sort of like if he were being raised by wolves.

Do you say that to your daughter because you're almost positive she's an NF? Have you ever tried that personality page link for kids? I do it for the kids in my class (I also send the link to their parents) just do see if their results match mine. Some parents are thrilled to read about their child. Some results I never get back so I just go with my thoughts. Most times the answers match up (the parents and mine). It's a real help to me to have an idea of their type. So again don't know if you'd tried but maybe you'd like to.

[Wolf]

I was a bit ahead of the curve in some respects, and my type has remained steady since I was a teenager. I would imagine that had I been tested as a child the results would have remained the same.

[SolitaryWalker]

I was a bit ahead of the curve in some respects, and my type has remained steady since I was a teenager. I would imagine that had I been tested as a child the results would have remained the same.

Wolf, dont overestimate the human propensities for honest and rational thought.

Very few have the introspective and analytical abilities that you have with the Ni-Te, especially the former.

Dont think timing is even an issue here, most people are too stupid to know what they are really made of.

[Wolf]

You have a point there. I have long believed that few types can be accurately identified, and those are due to the fact their personality is compatible with identifying their nature. Most are vaguely identified, at best.

[SolitaryWalker]

You have a point there. I have long believed that few types can be accurately identified, and those are due to the fact their personality is compatible with identifying their nature. Most are vaguely identified, at best.

Or how about wishful thinking? People are always trying to make themselves look good, so they will clearly be inclined to identify with whatever type they deem the most respectable.

[nightning]

Or how about wishful thinking? People are always trying to make themselves look good, so they will clearly be inclined to identify with whatever type they deem the most respectable.

Wishful thinking... How do truly we know what the right timing might be? We can only guess that our analysis of ourself is accurate. Are we just kidding ourselves in saying that we are better than them?

[SolitaryWalker]

Wishful thinking... How do truly we know what the right timing might be? We can only guess that our analysis of ourself is accurate. Are we just kidding ourselves in saying that we are better than them?

I am not saying that noone is better than anyone. Just that wishful thinking is a serious problem that human nature has left us with. And this will be a more significant factor with those of us who are not analytical or introspective than those of us who are.

[Eileen]

I've known about MBTI since my early adolescence because my dad was into it. When I first took an assessment, I came out ENFJ. I am not, nor have I ever been, an extravert. I think this sort of mistyping is very typical with kids/teenagers because they have a heightened sense of what they're supposed to be and *generally* weak self-awareness. I think I figured out by my junior or senior year of HS that I wasn't an extravert, and when I got to college, I went into "I'm an introvert, fuck off if you don't like it" mode. I don't think this was particularly healthy. On the one hand, I recognized my tendencies and needs and didn't view introversion as pathological; on the other hand, I didn't challenge myself socially.

Later in college, I went on a campus ministry retreat and participated in MBTI workshops. That was a good experience that helped me start thinking about my own gifts, my type as it relates to my communities, and so forth. I think that experience helped me get my head out of my introverted ostrich hole. Eventually, MBTI helped me make sense of some of my relationships. That tends to be the way I use it now.