"It is necessary to teach the child while he is lying across the bench, but when he lies along, it will be too late!" Some people have heard this folk wisdom, but not everyone thinks about its meaning. But it contains the centuries-old experience of our ancestors, who noticed that a person's character is formed, as a rule, in childhood.
How and when character is formed
Most experts believe that the foundations of character are laid before the age of 2 years. This is greatly influenced by the social environment surrounding the child, that is, his immediate environment (parents, grandparents, other relatives and close family friends who often visit the house). It is under their influence, following the examples they give, that the child begins to realize himself as a person, draws conclusions about the boundaries of what is permissible.
A very important role is also played by the degree of development of the child, the state of his psyche. Indeed, it depends on the characteristics of the work of the brain how a person reacts to any influences, external stimuli. And such reactions have a great influence on the formation of specific character traits.
At the age of 5-6 years, the laid foundations of character can be significantly supplemented or adjusted. This happens as the child becomes smarter and more experienced, learns more about the world around him, communicates and plays with other children. The system of rewards and punishments adopted in his family also plays an important role. Before the beginning of the school stage of a child's life, character can be supplemented with such business and communicative traits as sociability, perseverance, and accuracy. It is possible, of course, and the opposite option, when the child is difficult to communicate with peers, but they can not teach him to be accurate.
During schooling, character traits related to the emotional-volitional sphere are formed. The child actually finds himself in another world, is faced with the need to obey discipline, to limit his desires. This can both consolidate the already established features of his character, and destroy them, depending on willpower and on the moral and psychological situation in the educational institution.
By the time of graduation from school, at the age of 16-17, the character of a person, in the overwhelming majority of cases, is already fully formed.
Can character traits change after 25-30 years
It is extremely difficult to radically change an already established character. But it certainly lends itself to some adjustment. For example, in the period from 20 to 30 years, some people experience a "smoothing" of such traits as maximalism, impulsivity, aggressiveness, and more rationalism, restraint, responsibility are manifested. After turning 30, the likelihood of even minor changes in character traits decreases dramatically.
