TALENTED KIDS

How to recognize children's character and potential

06 October 2020 00:00

Children are the love and love of their parents who are expected to bring a good name and pride to the family. As a foundation for the hopes of parents in the future, of course the stages of child development must always be monitored. From the start, parents should know the character of their child and the potential they have.

Recognizing the characters that exist in children is an important thing for parents to do at home and teachers at school because character is an important part of children's development. When a child has known its characteristics and interests and talents, guidance can be provided optimally. Parents and teachers can provide appropriate guidance and facilities.


Ways To Recognize Child Character from His Attitude


Children who are given learning and guidance according to their character and potential will usually avoid learning difficulties. That way, the results of the learning process will also be maximized. So, to be able to recognize the character of a child, you can do it in the following ways.

1. Shy Child

A child who has a shy character can be seen and judged by some of the attitudes he shows when in public. Shy children usually tend to stick to their parents and don't want to be away from them. Children with a shy and sometimes timid character will usually feel uncomfortable when in a crowd.

Likewise when this shy child was at the school he had just entered. They take longer to socialize and get along with their friends. Do not force him to directly be able to interact because this is actually not good for children's development.

2. Grumpy Child

It's not just us adults who have a grumpy character and character, kids can also experience it. Don't be in a rush to think of an angry child as a bad boy because that would be a mistake. If children are labeled naughty from the beginning, they will be socially shunned by their friends.

What is the character of the angry child? Usually the attitude shown by a child with an angry character is stubborn about his wishes. Children will be angry and cry when their wishes fail to be fulfilled. Don't scold them, but teach them how to control their angry emotions.

You can invite children to do constructive activities when they feel angry, such as playing educational games. In addition, invite them to do useful activities, such as cleaning the bed and so on.

3. Sensitive Children

According to some child development experts, sensitivity will appear at certain times that make children feel uncomfortable. Children with sensitive characters will usually cry easily or fuss just because of trivial things, such as itchy clothes. If you already know that your child's character is sensitive, you should avoid things and conditions that make them uncomfortable.

Sensitive children will also tend to be fussy when invited to take long trips or go shopping to crowded centers such as malls. If in such a condition your child cries, it's best to take them away immediately or take a break from the trip. Sensitive children also tend to have learning difficulties if they are in situations that are not comfortable for them.

4. Happy Go Lucky Child

Children with these characteristics are probably the most liked by people and rarely get labeled as bad kids. They tend to be cute children who can enjoy every condition and moment they experience. Children like this tend to be friendly, sociable, and always smile. Children who are happy go lucky don't need special care from their parents.

5. Active Children

Active children are also often labeled as bad boys by society because they tend not to be silent. Children with active characters will always move and do physical activities wherever they are. They are not afraid to climb, jump around, and do other physical activities. Their high and restless activity is what makes people judge them to be bad boys.

How do you respond to an active child like this? A fairly easy way to do this is to get them to channel their active nature. Have them play a game that puts a lot of energy into it, such as playing ball or cycling around the compound.


How to Recognize the Characteristics of Students in School


After knowing the types of children's characters, the question might arise whether these can be used as indicators of their learning motivation? To find out the answer, you should first know how to identify the characteristics of students at school.

1. Observe his attitude

Teachers can recognize character tendencies possessed by students by looking at the attitudes they show. The attitude in question is as previously explained, namely whether the child is shy, active, sensitive, angry, or happy to go lucky. After knowing the attitude tendency shown by the child, the teacher can know his character.

2. Pay attention to their behavior

Apart from being seen from the attitudes shown, children's character can also be assessed from their behavior. For example, children who are active usually cannot stay still and like a lot of physical activity. Shy children will be more silent and aloof, not mingling with their friends. Likewise, to recognize other characters in children, see how they behave.

The behavior that is shown will also be used as an indicator of children's learning motivation. If they feel that the teaching conditions are not in accordance with their wishes, usually the behavior shown by children will lead to negative things. For example, active children cannot sit for too long while the teacher is explaining, so they tend not to listen and focus less.

3. Pay attention to his speech

Teachers can also predict and assess children's character from the way they speak words. Shy or timid children will usually speak with a low intonation that is very low, almost inaudible to their ears. Conversely, an angry child will often speak a higher, louder rhythm.

Teachers who do not understand the characteristics of their students are very likely to easily perceive angry children as naughty children. It is wrong if there are teachers who have labeled a child a "bad boy" and then do not provide good subject matter for that child so that it can make them experience learning difficulties. If something like this happens, the child can fail in the learning process. This is why it is important for a teacher to know the child's character and know how to handle it.

Previously, it was mentioned that the characteristics of students could influence their learning motivation indicators. Then, what is actually the so-called learning motivation indicator? Please refer to the explanation below.


Types of Learning Motivation Indicators According to Experts


According to Sardiman

Sardiman said that indicators that can be used to measure learning motivation in children consist of:

  • Diligent in facing the assigned task
  • Resilient in the face of adversity
  • Shows interest in various issues
  • Prefer to work independently
  • More quickly get bored of routine tasks
  • Can defend opinions
  • It is not easy to leave what he believes in
  • Enjoy looking for problems and solving them

These indicators are expected to help teachers provide solutions to children who have learning difficulties so that children do not fall behind in the learning process.


According to Djaali (Schwtzgebel and Kalb)
The kinds of learning motivation indicators according to Djaali, quoted from Schwtzgebel and Kalb, consist of:
  • Likes conditions and tasks that require personal responsibility for the results, not just chance or chance.
  • Choose a realistic but challenging goal.
  • Looking for something that will make him immediately receive feedback from what he was doing.
  • Enjoy working alone to be able to surpass others.
  • Can postpone the pleasure for a moment for a better future.
  • Not interested in simply getting money or status and more interested in something in the form of achievement.
If they have learning difficulties, it is clear that children will find it more difficult to meet the indicators mentioned above. This is where the teacher's duty to help children overcome these learning difficulties in order to achieve success.

According to Hamzah B. Uno
Hamzah B. Uno said that learning motivation will have a very big influence on children's development, in this case it is related to success. Children who have good intellectual development will be more successful in their learning and this is influenced by their inner motivation.


To maximize children's development and character building, an appropriate teaching system is needed. If children get the right way of learning, motivation can come naturally. For this reason, an education system that sees potential in children is needed, such as inclusive schools.

The reason behind the existence of inclusive schools is to support children's potential so that they do not put pressure on being able to master academic lessons. Parents' insights about the education system that prioritizes children's potential are very important for the success of children's education. Therefore, it is necessary for you to get complete and accurate information about this school.