When you were a child...

[MerkW]

I know that when one is a young child (roughly ages 3 - 6) usually only one's temperament (IxxP, ExxJ, IxxJ, ExxP) can be determined, and when older (7-12) only about three letters of one's type may be determined (IxTP, INxJ, ESxP, ENxP, ExFJ, ExTJ, ISxJ, IxFP,).

Regardless of all this, were there any particular instances during your childhood during which, your MBTI type would seem very clear. As in, despite the fact that back then your type would not have been able to have been determined with certainty, are there any anecdotes that you have of you childhood that display distinct traits only related to your current MBTI type?

 

[OctaviaCaesar]

When I was a child, I was very E, and somewhat S and T. It was only at puberty (and don't get me started on that subject ) that I became suddenly, extremely IN. I have always had J tendencies, though.

 

[Totenkindly]

I'm not sure if the "childhood rules" are correct. I was able to type all of my children very early on, and the types have held perfectly.

(And I'm aware of the possibility of bias and "pushing" children in a direction and have taken great pains not to do so. Even when we tried to just get our ESFP child to "tone down" and fit better with an introverted family, he became very miserable and lost his confidence and passion, and we had to ease up and let him be him.)

Our daughter was four when we adopted her, and I was 80% sure she was INFJ a few days into the trip, and was very sure soon after we got home.

Our ESFP son has fit the description since literally his birth.

Our INTP son was the most difficult to type -- by the time he was two, I was sure of INxP... but it took another year or two to be sure about the T. (The problem with INXP is that they do so much of their thinking and feeling inside that you do not get enough evidence to observe!)

If I can think of anecdotes, I'll include some of them later. I spent a minute thinking, but most of them seem inconclusive on their own. (Perhaps it is a combination of anecdotes that lets one triangulate and form a picture?)

 

[Athenian200]

I don't know if you would have been able to figure out my type early on... or even now, really. I have a rather weird combination of traits...

Some traits I have that could probably be construed as more "NT-ish" would be that on my first day of Kindergarden, I read some signs in the classroom, and surprised my teacher (I had been able to read since three, and had started to read Childcraft books a few months before coming to school.). When I asked why it was surprising, she said that most of the other students couldn't read. So I said, "You mean... they're illiterate??" Then she had me sent to the principal's office because she thought "illiterate" was a curse word or something, and the principle had to explain what it meant.

And starting around first grade or so, I was frequently watching KERA, various documentaries, and trying to understand my computer. I had to keep getting the dictionary out to look up various words in the process, and sometimes just read it for no particular reason.

Now, I've also always had a strong NF side... I've always been somewhat nervous/high-strung, and willing to choose things for their sentimental value. I've also worried a lot about what people thought of me, and tried to be fairly nice. Also, I've always preferred to cooperate with people rather than compete with them.

In summary, it seems like I'm more F in that I'm cooperative rather than competitive, and prefer to be nice rather than crude. Also, the fact that I don't feel guilty about having sentimental/illogical preferences about many things is probably important as well. Finally, I don't find it difficult to convey an emotion that I'm experiencing (or even one I'm not, in some cases.)

The only T traits I have are that I'm not really good at accepting things without understanding them, tend to scrutinize things rather thoroughly, tend to be extremely interested in learning, and feel irritated when I have to deal with people who don't care about understanding anything, and act put upon by the notion that they should. It also bothers me for someone who doesn't understand their job well enough to be in a position they can't really function properly in.

Basically... I'm a bit of a mess typologically, but so are many INFJ's.

The only letter I think you could have guessed was J...

 

[miss fortune]

I hung out with the boys playing soccer at recess as a child! I could trash talk and get in fights with the best of them I was known for looking down at a guy who I'd kicked in the shin in a particularly violent soccer game one day and saying- "what, are you going to cry now like a little girl?" This was made more dramatic since my lip was completely busted and bleeding from a fight at the moment...

yeah- I'd say I was probably a pretty good ESTP child!

 

[Randomnity]

From as early as I can remember:

-I was always very very quiet, introverted, shy, whatever
-I was always a bookworm and would spend hours reading in my room, from an age when most kids couldn't read very well
-I would frequently spend the whole day in the woods making shelters and gathering berries etc and pretending that I could survive by myself
-I'd also spend hours drawing animals and such

So I guess that points to I, S (marginally) and T. And for the P part, I've always procrastinated on schoolwork.

So for me my type has been evident for my whole life...the IxxP part, anyway.

 

[The Ü™]

I had interests in very odd things, such as ceiling fans, speakers, and sink drains. I also had weird fears of vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, and an exhaust fan in one of the bathrooms in my former abode. Don't ask me why.

I also lined up toy cars in straight rows and made my own movies up in my mind.

My personality growing up was pretty much INxJ as described on the Personality Page. I hated surprises and sudden changes, I was in a world of my own, and I was a victim of bullying more often than I care to think about.

 

[Lookin4theBestNU]

Some of my earliest memories:

I watched my little brother get punished (mildly in reality). I cried at the atrocity I was witnessing. I refused to speak to my parents for a couple of days due to my outrage.

I used to sit in the window sill in the living room. I used to imagine the dust particles were actually 'mouse balloons' lol. Anyway I created a rather vivid imaginary world from the beginning that's a little embarrassing to think on now.

We grew up without much of anything. I met a little girl down the street who was worse off than I was. I gave her my best toy because I wanted her to have something.

I know lots of little girls liked to play teacher growing up. It was one of my favorite games and my little brothers were my students LOL it was great!

I don't really remember playing with other kids all that much. I wanted to be with the grown-ups all the time and learn from them. I acted like an adult to the best of my ability as early as I can remember.

 

[anii]

I was all Fi as a child... very sensitive, would be moved to tears by seemingly inconsequential matters at very inconvenient times (for my ISTP father).

 

[Maverick]

ExTJ troublemaker in the playground

 

[FDG]

I was very extraverted up until 8, then I became quiet for 3 years, then back to extraverted till 16, then I became quiet again for 2 years, then back to extraverted.

 

[MerkW]

Since I started the thread, I think I'll write some anecdotes of my own:

As a child, there were many instances were I appeared distinctly INTP, yet also INTJ, ENTP, and INFP to certain degrees.

Like I do in the present, I always lived in my own imaginary world as a child. I was never a trouble to my parents. I was always quiet and I never spoke or behaved impulsively (lack of Se?). I would only speak if I wished to voice a strong opinion of mine, or if I wished to spew out information on the latest subject I found interesting (Ti + Fi?).

I excelled in systematic areas. I learned how to program the VCR and type on a computer before I could talk. I could read and do arithmetic before most of my classmates. Between the ages of 2-4 I displayed an intense fascination with vacuum cleaners and trains. At school I was mesmerized my the calenders. At birthday parties, instead of playing with the other children, I would inspect the vacuum model that the host had. On vacations I would insist on bringing train sets. I would constantly build train sets and elaborate lego structures.

Around the age of 4, I was introduced to the world of theoretical science. I watched Stephen Hawking videos about the black holes and the space-time continuum. During Christmas, I argued with my fellow preschoolers regarding the existence of Santa Claus. I stated that his existence was scientifically implausible, and that they were merely being brainwashed by tradition. I loved space and astrophysics. I displayed a sense of wonder and curiosity towards the universe.

I think I even displayed inferior Fe at the age of 3 or 4. When I was scraped or cut, I wouldn't cry at all, unlike the other children (this might also have to do with my odd sensory perception). When the preschool teacher asked in a babyish way "If I had a boobo," I would silently nod, yet inside, I was thinking something along the lines of "No I don't have a 'booboo' you moron. I have a minor abrasion on my finger. Please refrain from using such a childish vocabulary."

I don't know if this is a funcitonal issue, but I had, and currently have, very odd sensory perceptions. As a child, I couldn't stand noises of balloons popping, or of fireworks. I would throw fits because of the texture of my clothing, even though to other people, the cloth seemed very soft and comfortable. I was not at all in touch with my physical surroundings, instead in my own imaginary world, daydreaming. Some things never change.

When I entered first grade, I was deemed "disruptive" and "inattentive" because between classes, I would always try to play pranks and push the rules. During class, I would stare out the window, absorbed in my fantasy and speculation. I didn't see the purpose of paying attention in class if I had already learned the material on my own. Pathetic mortals, those schoolteachers were.

 

[Kiddo]

I was extremely extroverted when I was very young. My mother describes me as bouncing off the walls and running into things. Then I had to repeat the first grade, and according to my grandmother, I had an immediate personality change due to that failure and became very reserved. Then they put me in special education when I was in 2nd grade and I guess that worsened my condition somewhat. A few special people entered my life, realized I wasn't learning disabled, and worked with me. I remember developing an attitude where I screamed, cried, and yelled if I ever got anything less than an A on anything. By the time I was in sixth grade, I was at the top of my class but I had become very rigid and quiet.

Then in junior high I discovered I was socially inept and was teased relentlessly and that made me even more reserved and rigid. I took up martial arts when I was 13 and the instructor began working with me on relaxing and focusing my mental intensity on discipline. I was a loner through all of junior high and most fo high school, until I met a teacher who insulted me into relaxing, if that makes any sense. I came to college, and suddenly people began identifying me as laid back and aloof. Not long ago people began to say I was talkative and energetic.

If I had to guess, I would say I'm some sort of mutant. Probably an ESFP child turned INXX from failure and hostile environments. But I've been the way I am for so long that there is no way that I could ever go completely back. I do wonder sometimes what a different person I could have turned out to be had I never failed first grade.

 

[redacted]

i was blatantly Ni dominant as a child -- seeing everything as arbitrary. Fe also, always thinking about social roles and structure. i had very strong Ti as a kid also.

basically the exact same as now, except i'm more self-confident these days

 

[cascadeco]

I have no idea mbti-wise what I would have 'tested' as as a child, nor in most cases how I truly came across to others. I only know my internal thoughts and feelings, and how I perceived my life and how I perceived others.

Up til maybe grade school, I was apparently pretty outgoing, and sociable and curious, and would go up to strangers - which my mom tells me used to worry her.

Once in grade school, which is when all the kids start settling into their 'groups'/cliques, I had my friends, but I think I'd definitely quieted down by then, and I know I wasn't 'popular'. But I also wasn't terribly self-conscious or upset by that fact. Even then, I had some really close friends, and that's all that mattered. I was happy. I was always good at school - good at the different subjects, and I got good grades. I didn't have to study much, things kind of came naturally for me. Also, I wanted to do well, and I wanted to get good grades. What I enjoyed most in grade school was art though. I loved doing all of the art projects, and those would be the highlight of my day. Followed maybe by science class. I always liked science. So in grade school, I was quiet, creative, friendly, wouldn't even think to cause a disruption, and was diligent.

Once in junior high, the huge mass of kids, and running from one room to the next, and just the whole vibe of it - and social competitiveness/cliqueiness of it...really got to me. I posted in another thread, but I was way too sensitive for it - it just ate me alive. I wasn't teased a whole lot, but the few times I was teased (usually by boys, but there were a few bully girls who made fun of me) I really internalized it, and became pretty afraid and intimidated of people my age - it was just a whole dynamic I couldn't deal with, and I became really paranoid of people teasing me, and became really self-conscious. Still always got good grades though, and was also really into music. Bad at gym. BAD at gym. Of course none of this helped my standing. ;-) But I did have a pretty good friend who wasn't part of my school district (she was the daughter of my moms' friend) - and I'm almost positive this girl was/is an ENTP. We had so much fun together, now that I look back at it!!!

I was still rather a hopeless case in high school. I was always nice to everyone around me, but the fear kept me from making any real connections. So I was a loner. I had one close ENFP friend; another recluse who didn't fit in, in a different way. But that was it. I guess I had a few other friends, but I just had no social skills at that time, nor did I have any maturity/guidance in dealing with myself and my emotions, and being sensitive. Science classes were still some of my favorites, but most of my time was spent in extracurricular stuff related to music. I also always read a LOT, and enjoyed more of your creative artsy type stuff. And then my other interest was spending a lot of time outside, looking for birds. And I still excelled at academics, wanted to do well, and did well. But the whole high school experience was so...disconnected for me...because the fact that I didn't have really any friends, and wasn't part of ANY group, really bothered me. That's what I can remember. Just getting good grades, but being miserable because I didn't have many friends and I didn't feel like I fit in with anyone. In hindsight it was all rather self-fulfilling, and if I could go back now I'd see and do things a LOT differently (wouldn't we all? , but at the time, that's how I perceived the situation.

 

[faith]

(Age 5) I was helping my dad paint the house (as much as a 5-year-old can help). I was happy and wanted to make my [enfj] dad happy, so I said to him, "Isn't it nice that daddy and daughter can paint outside together?" because I knew that was the sort of thing he'd love for me to say. I was right: it thrilled him. Then, like a true INFJ, I felt a twinge of guilt because--although I was happy to paint with him--my main motivation for saying it was to make him happy, not to express my own feeling, and I was afraid perhaps I'd been guilty of manipulating him just a little.

(Age 4-5) I believed all my dolls & stuffed animals were alive and had feelings. I was careful to treat them respectfully--especially the old raggedy ones who might suffer from inferiority complexes. When my dad used one to stuff in a crack around the window one night, I protested vehemently against the indignity and discomfort of such misuse. He was annoyed and told me I was not allowed to remove the stuffed animal. When he was gone, I cried and apologized over and over to it.

(Age 5-6) We lived in the woods and the katydids were loud in the summer. I used to pretend they were a choir and I was directing them. I made an elaborate system of hand signals (because I was supposed to be sleeping and wasn't allowed to make noise) to communicate with them. Then I ran into the problem of how to tell them that they needed to do better. I couldn't tell them they weren't singing in time with the others, or that they weren't loud enough, because they were probably doing the best they could and I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I modified my hand signals to make them seem nicer and more encouraging rather than judgmental. I continued to modify the signals for a few nights, making them ever-more-encouraging until I realized that in order to direct the katydids I had to be able to tell them they should do better; if I didn't have the option of telling them to do better--if all I could do was tell them they were doing beautifully--then there was no purpose in the hand signals because there was only one thing to say. At that point I got very aggravated with myself and this stupid predicament and I gave up on directing katydids.

 

[Domino]

- Being in love with cars
- Being in love with STPs (Billy Idol, John Taylor, etc)
- Constantly socializing, then becoming very very withdrawn
- Having a fiery temper
- Bookish
- Authority problems

I sound like a female version of my INFJ father. I wasn't ever very physical, didn't like people touching my head, pretty driven in my school work to be perfect. My mother says that I didn't care to be toted around and was driven to get up on my feet and walk (I was an early walker and walked a month or two ahead of my sister, the ENFP who loved to put her arms out and be carried and schmooze with the Big Folks. lol) Mom also said that everything scared or freaked us out. We were very sensitive kids. I hated baby talk as well and frequently felt patronized by adults.

 

[Othon]

As a child, I was an ENFJ.
Now I'm an INxP.

 

[Usehername]

(Age 5) I was helping my dad paint the house (as much as a 5-year-old can help). I was happy and wanted to make my [enfj] dad happy, so I said to him, "Isn't it nice that daddy and daughter can paint outside together?" because I knew that was the sort of thing he'd love for me to say. I was right: it thrilled him. Then, like a true INFJ, I felt a twinge of guilt because--although I was happy to paint with him--my main motivation for saying it was to make him happy, not to express my own feeling, and I was afraid perhaps I'd been guilty of manipulating him just a little.

(Age 4-5) I believed all my dolls & stuffed animals were alive and had feelings. I was careful to treat them respectfully--especially the old raggedy ones who might suffer from inferiority complexes. When my dad used one to stuff in a crack around the window one night, I protested vehemently against the indignity and discomfort of such misuse. He was annoyed and told me I was not allowed to remove the stuffed animal. When he was gone, I cried and apologized over and over to it.

(Age 5-6) We lived in the woods and the katydids were loud in the summer. I used to pretend they were a choir and I was directing them. I made an elaborate system of hand signals (because I was supposed to be sleeping and wasn't allowed to make noise) to communicate with them. Then I ran into the problem of how to tell them that they needed to do better. I couldn't tell them they weren't singing in time with the others, or that they weren't loud enough, because they were probably doing the best they could and I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I modified my hand signals to make them seem nicer and more encouraging rather than judgmental. I continued to modify the signals for a few nights, making them ever-more-encouraging until I realized that in order to direct the katydids I had to be able to tell them they should do better; if I didn't have the option of telling them to do better--if all I could do was tell them they were doing beautifully--then there was no purpose in the hand signals because there was only one thing to say. At that point I got very aggravated with myself and this stupid predicament and I gave up on directing katydids.

what is a katydid?

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

When I was a kid I was all over the place. In fact my whole life I can be anywhere from INTP to ENFP depending on the context. I can't think of a time in my childhood that spelled out that I am definitely ENTP. (Well there was the one time I invented a time machine, but other than that nothing. )