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Personality Development

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Personality Development
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Personality in simple words means distinctive personal qualities which help one to establish one's identity. Personality of a child develops in a very natural process , which certainly can be improved further by proper guidance of parents and teachers. In fact, developing a child's personality is in a way development of a child in every aspect. It is the responsibility of the parents as well as the teachers to see to it that the child plays enough , reads enough and socialises enough.

To some extent, a child inherits its responsibility from its parents. Coming to the specific question how to develop a child's personality, it is imperative to know about the main factors that constitute its personality. Broadly speaking these are : Child's physical traits ( which are visible), child's intellectual qualities, attitude, behaviour pattern, feelings and aspirations, commitments and convictions. How the child's personality will develop, to a great extent, depends upon the way he is allowed to socialize, interact with others emotionally during his childhood, the parent's behaviour with him/her, how the child is treated by his near and dear ones, the cultural milieu in which he/she t is brought up, the amount of care and love it gets from its parents, the contribution made by the school, and the facilities provided to the child for his physical growth and mental development.

The most common criteria of defining a child's personality is it's physical outlook which consists of it's height, weight, leanness, fatness and so on. However, apart from having a good height, balanced weight, healthy physique, if he t has a good sense of dressing and hairstyle , we generally term his personality as being "impressive or good". To take care of a child's health, he/she may be provided nutritious diet. It is possible to even help the child in gaining height and controlling weight with the help of medical advice, tonics, physical exercises etc. To make him physically active , sports or games are necessary.

Play - an Essential Element 
Play forms one of the important elements of child's personality development. It is a medium that provides the child an opportunity for fullest self -expression, freedom and pleasure. It is also a creative activity. More over, play is refreshing and rejuvenating.



Role of Emotions
While talking about the development of a child's personality, one must t mention he emotional development in the children . Emotions play a major and a very important role in this context. Development of various emotions in a child from part of his personality development. Expression of emotions plays a vital role in an individual's personality. Emotions can be divided into two broad categories:

1. Pleasant and 2. Unpleasant .

Joy/ Happiness-






Shyness is generally developed in a child due to lack of socialisation . It makes a child remain aloof, alone and confined to himself only. He/she does not feel comfortable in a group or in mixing up with different kinds of people. An extremity of this emotion may make the child timid, unable to express its views, it's desires, it's problems and deprive it of it's right. It can further prevent him from making the best out of child's talents and qualities. They remain unpopular and unnoticed which is likely to give rise to a feeling of inferiority complex in them. The best way to avoid shyness is to encourage the children to move around, talking and mixing up with more and more people, knowing their views, noticing their way of thinking, listening to their suggestions and then communicating with without any hesitation .



Parents' behaviour

Husband's helping hand - a must
Though the responsibility of nurturing the child, taking care of its physical and mental growth, its safety, and its study is generally regarded as women's work and more often than not shifted to the already overburdened mother. But this in no way, lessens the responsibility of the father. Due to pressing financial needs women like men have to work to supplement the family's income, which leaves them with little time of look after their children and they genuinely need a helping hand from the husband, who must share the important task of upbringing the child .

Tips on personality development of the child
  • Do not scold child all the time for minor failures.
  • Do not trouble the child constantly.
  • Frequent use of bitter or harsh remarks should be avoided.
  • Avoid the practice of preferring one child over the other and thereby neglecting the other.
  • Do not denigrate or disparage the child.
  • Avoid prolonged separation of the child.
  • Constant friction with the child or between the parents should not be expressed in front of the child.
  • Never discourage the child.
  •  Do not praise your child always.
  • Excessive discipline is also harmful.
  • Repetitive or sever punishment should be avoided. The child  should be given a change to rectify itself and punishment should be the last resort.
  • Parents should not be over-ambitious regarding their children and they should not set goals for a child which is not in harmony with his intellectual endowment , capabilities ,  achievements and interests. This also puts a breach in the proper development of the child's personality.

"Criticism of personality or character leads to negative feelings about oneself."

Qualities that one should possess to strengthen self-esteem

1. A Positive Approach
A positive approach in life ensures success and happiness . A positive person is never daunted by failures or competitions because he is confident about himself and failures bring out the best in him . He is a hard working soul and never gets deterred by irrational thoughts that are responsible for triggering off negative feelings like anger , depression and despair He. believes that "to every dark cloud there is a silver lining" and strikes back with much more self-confidence only to emerge successful.

2. Realistic Attitude person with a strong self esteem is confident but not over confident. He does not believe in building castles in the air. He is down to earth and believes in hard work and knows for sure - "what he wants in life, whether the field he has chosen suits his capabilities, his taste, his qualifications- In short, what we call a realistic approach to life.

3. Self-Confidence
An individual with a strong self esteem exudes confidence. He never feels insecure in the face of tough competition and has the heart to appreciate if he comes across a better person. At the same time he never doubts his capabilities. After a failure, they do not probe a futile questions, "I should not have made that statement" or " will he like me?" Or condemn himself for minor mistakes.

4. Learn To Appreciate Others
A person with a weak self esteem likes to criticize and condemn others. Their discouraging nature not only irritates people but also makes them unpopular. Instead of appreciating a positive gesture they always try to find fault with others .On the other hand , a person with a strong self esteem appreciates people, their views and never makes fun of others . They are warm and do not miss an opportunity to offer a sincere note of thanks for even the smallest of tasks. Try this and you will notice that this small technique makes life easier . You will definitely feel better after making others feel good or cared for.

5. Learn To Smile Genuinely
For all those who have not really smiled for quite sometime- Life is indeed quite tough and frustrating in one way or the other . But remember laugh and the whole world laughs with you, weep and you weep all alone. Let us begin with just a smile.

6. Learn To Communicate That You "Really Care"
Human beings tend to take themselves and their near and dear ones for granted . As parents, as children , as friends, we take each other very lightly, depending on one another but at the same time ignoring their very existence . This creates a stillness, a kind of monotony in life.