GTKYK (Get To Know Your Kids)

[roo1582]

Since our kids are getting bigger and their likes/dislikes and personalties are becoming more prevalent, what do you think your kid will be when they get older?

[lainikins]

I think my kid is going to be the quiet kind kid who still can get into a little bit of mischief. He has such a kind heart and careful tendencies, but he gets really loud and silly with friends. I think it is a really good mix for him.

[roo1582]

She's not the kid I was thinking she would be.  Both H and myself were pretty quiet as kids.  She's the complete opposite.  You get her going and she's crazy.  She always wants to be the center of attention.  She loves talking to people as long as you give her a little time to warm up.  She's the one running out to make friends.  And she thinks everyone wants to be her friend (I love her innocence).  

She's also very headstrong and knows exactly what she wants.  H and I are both the kind who really hate to make decisions.  She has no problem with it!  

At this point in time, I think Kayleigh will be an actress. The girl is very dramatic. She can cry at the drop of a hat in order to try to get what she wants. She loves to pretend she's asleep or that she is mad. She also loves watching TV and often pretends she is in one of the shows. The other day she tried jumping into the book we were reading so that she could be in the story.

I used to say she was aiming to be a lawyer because she used to love to fight about everything. Unfortunately, her reasoning skills need a lot of work because her reason is always "because I know".

[irish1213]

Not sure what field Jack will be in but his title will be "Master Manipulator".

[starfishy]

When T was little I used to say he would be a detective. And I still think that. He is hyper observant (if that's a thing). He sees things all the time, and asked questions about what everything is. He walks around with a magnifying glass!! He loves puzzles and games and learning how the world works.
If anything he will be busy. This kid is always moving, always needs something to do.

[laurski81]

Henry was definitely born to take on something great. He is very outgoing, strong willed, observant, incredibly smart, always looking for the next thing to do, and has an underlying charm that he uses to his advantage when he is "being Henry". He never wants to miss anything and from the second he gets up to the second he's asleep he has "ideas". A thousand times a day he is telling who ever is watching him about a new idea that he has for something...anything.

Provided he doesn't use all these traits to break the law or do something illegal; I can see him in a CEO type position someday.

[paddyb]

I have no idea. The main traits I see right now are an incredible imagination, curiosity, and stubburness. those could be helpful in a wide range of areas...it will depend on what he ends up being most interested in.

[jennmm]

She'll probably be a lot like me. Stubborn, hard headed, and mean when she needs to be

[aylafsu1881]

E is very outgoing and curious about everything. It is hard to pick one thing. Right now I lean towards something like a detective or investigator. She loves to find things (like bugs) and watch them. It is adorable. She also loves animals, so I could see her doing something like working at a zoo, veterinarian etc.

[caddoqueen]

At this point all I know is that I definitely don't see him at a desk job. Maybe something outdoors? He could live outside, even in summer (and we live in Louisiana so it gets hot AF). He has an awesome imagination, he's hardheaded and super sweet and silly. He was doing some "magic tricks" for us this past weekend with quarters and was quite hilarious. Maybe he needs a Las Vegas show?

[justbeth]

I think Emma will be some sort of caretaker. Mom, teacher, nurse, doctor... Something like that. She loves to care for others. She is constantly caring for her babies, stuffed animals, our dog, friend's babies, smaller children in the neighborhood/playground/pool. She seems drawn to kids younger to her, but not to play with, more to help. She loves playing on the small playground and helping the younger toddlers climb the steps, hold their hands, slide down, etc. If someone falls and is crying she is always first to run over and check on them. She gets very worried when other kids or babies are crying in a store or restaurant.

She is very cautious and worries a lot. She has never been a carefree toddler or even baby. She thinks through what she is doing and is scared to try new things or anything that looks like it might be dangerous. She didn't even attempt to climb onto our sofa until she was two and has never attempted to climb out of her bed alone. She can climb out, but is scared to do it if I'm not in the room. (Sometimes her cautious nature benefits me!)

She is very outgoing, loud, and rambunctious when she is around people she is close to but immediately quiets down when there are new people around. She is loyal. Her friends are her best friends and she will happily give them her favorite toys to play with.

[samelly]

Rebellious, disorganized, creative, and athletic.  She makes her own decisions and doesn't listen to me now - so I can imagine that's going to get worse as she gets older and more independent.  She's very physical, so I see her really enjoying sports and possibly be into something artsy like a drama class.

[aimeefarrahfowler]

I seriously don't know with this kid. He says he's going to be a farmer. Lately he wants me to call him "Farmer Alex" or "Tractor Alex". Legit obsessed with farms and animals and tractors, but I'm guessing that is more of a little kid phase than a career path.

As he's getting older, he is just a funny little guy. I think he is an introvert like me, because while he can be pretty gregarious and funny and outgoing, he also likes his quiet alone time. We were at a big, loud family dinner a few weeks ago and A took his paper and crayon and went and sat by himself in an empty room. I asked him what he was doing and he said there were too many people. So I told him to come back when he was ready, and he did a little while later. He is so smart and clever, but also gentle and sweet. He is not too serious and generally easygoing. Really, nothing would surprise me.

[xanthepants]

Jul 7, 2015 14:06:33 GMT -5 justbeth said:

I think Emma will be some sort of caretaker. Mom, teacher, nurse, doctor... Something like that. She loves to care for others. She is constantly caring for her babies, stuffed animals, our dog, friend's babies, smaller children in the neighborhood/playground/pool. She seems drawn to kids younger to her, but not to play with, more to help. She loves playing on the small playground and helping the younger toddlers climb the steps, hold their hands, slide down, etc. If someone falls and is crying she is always first to run over and check on them. She gets very worried when other kids or babies are crying in a store or restaurant.

She is very cautious and worries a lot. She has never been a carefree toddler or even baby. She thinks through what she is doing and is scared to try new things or anything that looks like it might be dangerous. She didn't even attempt to climb onto our sofa until she was two and has never attempted to climb out of her bed alone. She can climb out, but is scared to do it if I'm not in the room. (Sometimes her cautious nature benefits me!)

She is very outgoing, loud, and rambunctious when she is around people she is close to but immediately quiets down when there are new people around. She is loyal. Her friends are her best friends and she will happily give them her favorite toys to play with.

Exactly this. Apparently Emma and Cosette will be going into practice together.   Cosette is creepy smart sometimes and I really don't mean it to come off as a brag, I just sometimes shake my head like are they supposed to know things like that this young?  Because a lot of it is not coming from me I tell you, I have no idea where she is getting it. Her recall of events, names, and words is ridiculous. Very book smart - I think I got my brothers child (he was a gifted kid, me not so much!). With the exception of her  crazy fear of splinters and crying and then loving band-aids, I think she's bound for a medical/veterinarian career at this point.

[paddyb]

serious question: for those you that indicated your child is smart, how did you figure that out? Like my kid may be smart, or he might be average. I have no idea because I have no idea what makes a person smart for a two almost three year old.

what factors are you looking at?

(These questions may be a result of my own hang ups - being "smart" has always been a huge part of my identify, and I want my children to be smart too...but I also don't want to be assuming they are smart when they are, well not.)

[sarasansh]

Robin's main love in life is still fans. I hope it keeps up as he gets older so maybe he can finally explain to me why he loves them so much.

He's a very easygoing, goodnatured, sensitive, curious, silly kid. He's a good mixture of wanting to be very physical--climbing on everything, jumping off stuff, running around--and enjoying more quiet activities like reading books or arts & crafts. He's definitely an introvert like me, and he's very sensitive to the world around him (also like me.) He needs to be prepped about loud noises and things like that--he's always telling MH to turn the TV down!

He's very curious and wants to know how everything works. He also notices a lot of little details--he's being using a pair of chopsticks for drumming lately and he'll walk around the house and drum on all sorts of different surfaces to hear the different sounds it makes.

I'm not sure what I see him doing--we joke he's going to be some sort of electrical engineer, or work in wind energy, because of the fan obsession--but I think it'll be something that's more hands on and requires patience and noticing detail.

[xanthepants]

paddyb, I've been going off of development charts (what she should know by when), she generally is achieving most milestones, though not all, prior to the dates listed by 6-8 months or more. The information from the teachers at daycare/preschool are consistently gushing about how smart she is or how she did such and such by pulling me aside (two particular teachers have had serious convos with me about it out of the blue not from my lead which took me aback). Her fine motor skills are not in line with this though so she may recognize letters, "read" short words or spell, she cannot control a pen very well to write at this point. So please take what I say with a grain of salt. I compare her to cousins of a similar age, the couple of kids across the street who we see regularly and are older and the kids in her preschool when I sit and observe class once in a while. I do think her language skills are very clear (when she chooses to talk that is!) I just think there is no way a 3 year old should know the stuff coming out of her mouth sometimes. Perhaps it's my own perception of "creepy smart" if that makes sense?

[laurski81]

paddyb I was basing my comment off the developmental charts provided by Henry's pediatric group much like xanthepants. I also compare him to other kids I know his age and just dealing with him on a day to day basis and watching his mind work leads me to believe he is pretty smart.

[heatherbee]

I wonder this a lot about DS. The joke among my family is that he is going to be a politician because he is so outgoing and needs to meet everyone. I can't go into a store without him trying to talk to anyone who walks our way. When we go to play dates, he walks right away to play no matter how new the place is. He does not get this from me! Lol

He is usually easy going, likes routines, knows and understands a lot of how things affect each other, and can have a very strong willed personaility when he wants to. He is very verbal and likes to be the center of attention. He loves electronics and I wouldn't be surprised if he took after his dad (an IT guy). I'm really interested to see what his passions are and who he becomes as he gets older!

[mightybee]

These are so interesting to read! They are really coming into their own now.

The running joke is that Dylan will be an engineer or electrician because of his unwavering fascination (borderline obsession) with plugs and outlets. Here's how our morning went: he connected 2 short extension cords together and then connected them to a portable CD player. He called these his "dancing cords." After dancing around on the front porch, we moved the dance party into the garage. He would plug stuff in, unplug stuff, do different configurations all day if we let him. Maybe he'll be a sound engineer or a roady and spend his days and nights setting up and tearing down sound equipment. Right now that would be his heaven.

He's outgoing, loves to be outside and "work," he equally loves playing with friends and playing on his own. He is finding his comedic timing and is always doing something. He has always been very verbal and can express himself way that way. He's into understanding cause/effect and asks a lot of "if this happens, will that happen?"

His compassion for others seems a bit lacking. Lately, if he accidentally runs into me or bonks me with something, he will try to do it again and again to get me to make the same reaction, even when I'm clear that it hurts. Maybe that's just a developmental step in cause and effect or something, but sometimes I worry that he's got a little bit of apathy in him!

[MissMusic]

If I base it off of the past month, my kid will be in prison for assault and probably the leader of a prison gang.

If I base it on overall stuff, maybe an anime artist or producer. She's super into "cute" things, likes art, likes to be a little ridiculous, loves her music, etc. She is also starting to really get into physical stuff like dance, soccer, climbing, etc.

[somethingcleverer]

I don't know about Aubrey, maybe a dictator of a small country? Some of the personality traits I see in her are confidence, creativity, great imagination, determination and being assertive. She also loves music and will sing quite a bit of a song (Shane never did that until older so it impresses me). I could see her being a performer, but I picture her as a more serious actress that works hard at her characters. Or she would be good in a job where people need to make important decisions because she knows what she wants and will never falter on her choice. This is such a hard question!

[cbear]

Jul 7, 2015 15:30:40 GMT -5 xanthepants said:

Jul 7, 2015 14:06:33 GMT -5 justbeth said:

I think Emma will be some sort of caretaker. Mom, teacher, nurse, doctor... Something like that. She loves to care for others. She is constantly caring for her babies, stuffed animals, our dog, friend's babies, smaller children in the neighborhood/playground/pool. She seems drawn to kids younger to her, but not to play with, more to help. She loves playing on the small playground and helping the younger toddlers climb the steps, hold their hands, slide down, etc. If someone falls and is crying she is always first to run over and check on them. She gets very worried when other kids or babies are crying in a store or restaurant.

She is very cautious and worries a lot. She has never been a carefree toddler or even baby. She thinks through what she is doing and is scared to try new things or anything that looks like it might be dangerous. She didn't even attempt to climb onto our sofa until she was two and has never attempted to climb out of her bed alone. She can climb out, but is scared to do it if I'm not in the room. (Sometimes her cautious nature benefits me!)

She is very outgoing, loud, and rambunctious when she is around people she is close to but immediately quiets down when there are new people around. She is loyal. Her friends are her best friends and she will happily give them her favorite toys to play with.

Exactly this. Apparently Emma and Cosette will be going into practice together.   Cosette is creepy smart sometimes and I really don't mean it to come off as a brag, I just sometimes shake my head like are they supposed to know things like that this young?  Because a lot of it is not coming from me I tell you, I have no idea where she is getting it. Her recall of events, names, and words is ridiculous. Very book smart - I think I got my brothers child (he was a gifted kid, me not so much!). With the exception of her  crazy fear of splinters and crying and then loving band-aids, I think she's bound for a medical/veterinarian career at this point.

Add Elise to this list! She also likes being in charge so maybe she will be the director lol! She is super smart, can be stubborn, but also very sweet when another kid is crying and is a great big sis! She is very cautious and shy at first but can be extremely outgoing if she knows everyone around her

[aylafsu1881]

Jul 7, 2015 15:49:11 GMT -5 paddyb said:

serious question: for those you that indicated your child is smart, how did you figure that out? Like my kid may be smart, or he might be average. I have no idea because I have no idea what makes a person smart for a two almost three year old.

what factors are you looking at?

(These questions may be a result of my own hang ups - being "smart" has always been a huge part of my identify, and I want my children to be smart too...but I also don't want to be assuming they are smart when they are, well not.)

I was wondering the same thing. I feel like it is so hard to know if she is "smart" right now. The milestone charts seem like a good way to go though. H  and I often think that E is pretty smart by comparison to other kids but I feel like that can be a tricky way to base "smartness." If it is a kid you see a lot than yes you could compare. However, some kids have off days or are shy so it is hard to randomly compare kids.

[roo1582]

Its interesting looking at the CDC milestones. Kayleigh actually does a lot of what are listed under the 4 year olds for language and cognitive. I knew she was smart (at least I liked to think she was), but I guess I never really thought at what age level she might be doing certain things.

[origamimommy]

These are so fun to read! I am just catching up on this thread.

Tyler is very unique! If I had to guess today what we would be, it would be either a fashion designer or an architect. He LOVES to build things. Legos, Magnatiles, blocks, etc. anything he can build--he will. He loves to explore different shapes and how things fit together, and he explains what he built and what each part represents. It's very thorough.

But he also loves shoes and clothes. It's almost ridiculous. For his birthday, his favorite present was a pair of rain boots I got him. He also got a pair of bright blue and yellow Nikes which he just died for. We also promised him a pair of red shoes, so we went to the store, and he ws very specific in his directions to the salesperson. H and I were cracking up! She kept bringing out extra shoes for him to look at, and he would just say, "No I don't like them" or "Here, let me try". It was absolutely hysterical. The kid lucked out when I took my current job because he just wants ALL THE SHOES. He also picks out all of his other clothes and is very picky and particular about what he wears. Shoes are his thing, though.

[xanthepants]

origamimommy, He can't be an architect then. Their uniform is all black head to toe.
J/K. I work with them all day - they take themselves way too seriously. And seriously most of them wear head to toe black on client days. It's pretty funny. Tyler would wow them too much with his fancy shoes!