What a Kid’s Behavior Predicts About Their Future

Children often grow up to be reflections of their young selves, but adult behavior is not entirely predicted by childhood tendencies

Since before he could walk, our youngest son wore a perpetual smile and loved to perform for laughs. With few exceptions, that hasn’t changed in 22 years. Predictive behavior? Photo by the author.

Raising three kids who now range in age from 22 to 34 has taught me three things about the arc of life as it pertains to parenting:

• Adults tend to grow into strong reflections of their childhood selves, whether shy or gregarious, cooperative or headstrong, and there’s only so much we parents can do about it.
• You can’t perfectly imagine a kid’s future successes or struggles based on early behaviors, but you can make some pretty good guesses.
• Making piles of money won’t ensure the happiness of your grown children, but making a reasonable amount can go a long way.

Science supports these notions.

Behavioral characteristics from infancy through high school have been shown to stick with people across time, to varying degrees. And certain aspects of that behavior — as early as kindergarten— presage earnings potential for decades to come. Some research even indicates “good” early behavior can predict a longer, healthier, happier life.