How to Deal With Different Personality Traits and Learning Styles of Your Children
Have you ever noticed that all of your children have different personalities and learning styles?
Of course, everyone has a different personality all their own. Yet, I find it silly that the young children in my house have completely different personalities, despite the fact that they are all raised in the same house with the same rules and same day-to-day.
This happened to myself and my brothers when we were younger as well. In high school, we were all very different individuals. Kevin was the intellectual one who would perform in school plays, mock trial and got straight A’s. I was the artistic one who enjoyed drawing, writing and dancing. Levi was the jock who was extremely popular and maintained a consistent sports schedule between wrestling and football.
We had similar personality traits too. We were all smart, understanding and empathetic to others and respected our parents…
However, the similarities were minimal compared to our differences.
With my children, it is no different.
Samuel: My enthusiastic intellectual 12-year-old has a way that is all his own. He loves cartoons, computer games and bowling. He keeps his emotions inside to the point he may blow up if someone doesn’t get him talking.
Hunter: The emotional linebacker. I tough looking blonde teddy bear. This child would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Wears his emotions on his sleeve more than I ever did at his age. He loves to play video games, build things using any medium and movies.
Lillian: 6 going on 16. She loves modern style clothing and furniture. She would rather play a game on a tablet or phone than play with dolls. This child has attitude for days compared to my other kids. She believes everything in life revolves around her and her beauty.
Leo: Even at two-years-old, he knows he rules the house with and iron sippy cup. He may not speak words but when he tries to tell you something — he meant that shit. He is one to demand attention without screaming and understands that a smile and hug makes everything better.
They’re all different, yet they share similar traits.
Why are children who live in the same home, taught the same things and raised the same way — all very different from one another.
The answer:
People take things in differently. If I show all my children how to wash a dish. Each of them are going to get different pieces of the information I provide to stick. Whatever was the most important part to them, is what they will remember.
That’s the kicker. Each person that comes onto this circular rock has a different way of learning things. Even if you teach everyone in your home the same thing the same way… they’re going to understand the teaching differently than one another.
My advice:
Learn your child's learning style. Does your child learn from watching, doing, writing or reading? Do bright colors help them to gain the information they need, or do they need to physically do it themselves?
Knowing this information is going to help your children learn in their individual ways and the end result will come out the same.
If you want all of your children to learn cursive and you just write it for them and then just let them loose to try… only one or two of them may gain the understanding of what you’ve asked. The other may need to have you sit with them while they try to do it themselves and another may need you to tell them how to do it in detail.
If you do each of these teachings for each child, at the end… they will all be writing cursive the way you expected.
If not… they will all show different understandings of what you taught.
Crazy right?
🧡Shine Bright, Kayla
Copyright © 2022 Kayla Tackett