Here's How To Figure Out Your Baby's Myers-Briggs Score

I'm obsessed with all things personality tests. I can tell you I am INTJ, an explorer, a nurturer, and a Ravenclaw. I tend to buy only things I need, and my parenting style is "hot mess Mama." I've taken all the tests, so of course I want to know all about my own children. But how do you test someone who can't even speak, let alone answer on a scale of "maybe, sometimes," and "Of course, what do you think I am, a Hufflepuff?" While it's a challenge, you can get an idea. Here's how to figure out your baby's Myers-Briggs score and find out if they're as sensitive as you hope they'll be.

One of the most wonderful parts of growing up is developing a personality. It begins as soon as soon as your baby is born. Does your baby prefer to be held, or do they like the swing? Does your baby whine and whimper, or are they a screamer? All of these little clues and more are hints as to what your baby will be like as an adult. The Myers-Briggs test (MBTI) is an analytical analysis of personalities based on Jungian theory that evaluates four main parts of one's personality. In order to determine which Myers-Briggs type best suits your baby, you'll have to do some detective work.

There are four main components that you'll have to look for when going about determining your child's MBTI. According to the MBTI testing standards, one component is their preferred world — whether they're introverted (I) or extroverted (E). The next is how a person processes information, whether they're dependent upon senses (S) or intuition (N). The third is, how do they make decisions? Is it based on thinking (T) or feeling (F)? And finally, the last component is how someone, in this case your baby, deals with the outside world. Do they judge (J) or perceive (P)?

The first one is probably easiest to recognize when stranger danger and shyness sets in, somewhere between 6 months old and 22 months old, according to Infancy. While a childhood of shyness does not necessarily an introvert make — I certainly was never shy — it is a clue. If your baby is clamoring to get dressed to go to Target or Sunday school, you may have an extrovert on your hands. (Or they might just really love Target, which is a legit position.)

As an introvert, your child may seem really relieved, even tired after dealing with admirers or the public, and they may get cranky the more time they're required to spend in the company of people outside their inner circle. Meanwhile, your baby extrovert may leave day care positively amped up. Smiling and giggling and acting like the life of the party. (Until they inevitably crash hard in their car seat from expending all that energy.)

Does your baby sense things out, or go with their gut? A good way to determine whether your child gets an S or an N is when they start to walk. Not their age, exactly, but their tentativeness. The website for Dr. Sears noted that some babies are more cautious in their steps than others, though most babies are walking before 18 months. My son? He was a cautious walker and crawler. He looked where he was going, didn't love stairs, and hated grass. (Hey, he's a city kid, it's acceptable.) He's definitely an S. To this day, he might not be aware of where his body is all the time, but play a video game with him some time and you'll understand my sentiment. My baby girl? She took off running as soon as she could walk and did not care who was in her way. She was sure she was going to get there. She trusted her gut and her chubby legs, and that was all she needed. She's still very much an N at 6 years old. I mean, fashion is her favorite, and she bucks all the trends.

The next one is pretty difficult to determine for babies. Do they consider their actions via thinking (T) or feeling (F)? It's similar to sensing versus intuition, but a bit more complex. This relies heavily on the ability to experiment, so it's best to look at how they eat. Are they willing to try new things without questioning the green goop you just loaded on their spoon? Heck, do they try to pull the spoon from your hand to feed themselves? They are likely feelers. They need to know and experience what's happening.

Meanwhile, those babies who stick a little bit of tongue out to try their food first, or tentatively bring the toast to their mouths? They're the thinkers. They might also mouth the same things over and over rather than putting all the things in their mouths. They're the kids whose Sophie the Giraffe looks like a science experiment gone wrong if you cut it open. They also might have a lovie that they can't part with. Their object permanence is super strong, and they don't trust you.

How to figure out your baby's Myers-Briggs final letter isn't as difficult as the others. Do they judge, or do they perceive? Is your baby terrified of looking at ferris wheels, or do they delight in the lights? If your child is one who seeks out everything around them, including people, you may not know it, but they are finding those people acceptable or lacking with just their gut. Those are perceptive babies. The judging type might tend more towards order. They don't love a shift in routine, and no one would classify them as flexible or spontaneous. Miss a nap? You're screwed. Meanwhile, the perceptive babies go with the flow, burp a little, and call it good.

While people have been taking the MBTI tests for years, there's no research as to its benefits in either children or adults, and is mostly just good fun. A test that deals in binary answers isn't going to give you a great idea of how to interact with your child. Now, your child's future Hogwarts house? That's something entirely different.

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