Language to Describe Your Child’s Positive Traits
Have you ever been asked to describe your child’s personality, character, or strengths and not known what to say? Here’s a helpful list of positive personality traits you can use to describe your kids.
Ways to Use this List
- give your kids language to feel positive about themselves
- find words to describe their strengths
- determine weaknesses they can work on
- choose a few adjectives to focus on for a period of time (monthly or yearly focus words) as a character building exercise
- encourage your kids to embrace a growth mindset and focus on one of these personality traits in an area they feel inadequate
- cultivate traits they want to be known for
All About My Child Personality Record
Join my mailing list below for access to my printables library and download a free template to record your child’s favorites, interests, learning style, and add descriptive words about their personality!
Activities Using these Descriptive Words
These adjectives can be used in a variety of ways to help your kids explore the words they feel best describe them. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- vocabulary: if they don’t know the meaning, have them look up the words
- create an acrostic of their name using words to describe themselves
- make a personal collage and add some of the descriptive words along with pictures
- offer positive feedback to siblings or parents using the describing words
- use creative lettering to display adjectives that remind them of how they want to interact with others
As a homeschooler, I’m always looking for ways to encourage my kids to know themselves—what comes naturally to them and what doesn’t. One thing I like to remind them, and myself, is that whoever it is we want to be in the future (when I grow up), we should take steps to be that person today.
Read: Student Collage Assignment
List of Positive Adjectives to Describe Kids
Find out how to download a free printable list of all 250 positive personality traits at the end of this article.
Who do you want to be today?
How do you want others to describe you?
Positive Adjectives Beginning with A
accepting
accommodating
active
adaptable
admirable
adorable
adventurous
affectionate
agile
agreeable
aggressive
alert
altruistic
ambitious
amiable
amusing
analytical
appreciative
approachable
articulate
artistic
assertive
astute
athletic
attentive
authentic
autonomous
Positive Adjectives Beginning with B
big-hearted
boisterous
bold
brave
bubbly
Positive Adjectives Beginning with C
calm
capable
captivating
carefree
careful
casual
cautious
charismatic
charming
cheerful
clever
collaborative
comforting
committed
compassionate
competent
competitive
confident
congenial
conscientious
considerate
consistent
contemplative
cooperative
coordinated
cordial
courageous
courteous
creative
cultured
curious
Positive Adjectives Beginning with D
daring
dazzling
decisive
dedicated
deliberate
demonstrative
dependable
detail-oriented
determined
devoted
dignified
diligent
diplomatic
direct
discreet
dramatic
driven
dynamic
Positive Adjectives Beginning with E
eager
easy-going
educated
efficient
elegant
eloquent
empathetic
encouraging
energetic
enterprising
entertaining
enthusiastic
entrepreneurial
ethical
expressive
extraverted
exuberant
Positive Adjectives Beginning with F
fair
faithful
fearless
flamboyant
flexible
focused
forgiving
forthright
friendly
frugal
funny
Positive Adjectives Beginning with G
generous
gentle
genuine
giving
good-natured
graceful
gracious
Positive Adjectives Beginning with H
happy
hard-working
helpful
high-spirited
hilarious
honest
honorable
hopeful
hospitable
humble
Positive Adjectives Beginning with I
idealistic
imaginative
impartial
independent
industrious
influential
informed
innovative
inquisitive
insightful
inspiring
intellectual
intentional
introverted
intuitive
inventive
Positive Adjectives Beginning with J
jovial
joyful
just
Positive Adjectives Beginning with K
kind
knowledgeable
Positive Adjectives Beginning with L
likable
logical
loving
loyal
Positive Adjectives Beginning with M
meditative
methodical
meticulous
modest
motivated
Positive Adjectives Beginning with N
neat
nurturing
Positive Adjectives Beginning with O
objective
observant
open-minded
opinionated
optimistic
orderly
organized
outgoing
Positive Adjectives Beginning with P
passionate
patient
patriotic
peaceful
pensive
perceptive
perky
persistent
personable
persuasive
philosophical
pioneering
playful
pleasant
poetic
polished
polite
positive
practical
pragmatic
precise
proactive
problem-solving
professional
proficient
proper
punctual
purposeful
Positive Adjectives Beginning with Q
quiet
quirky
Positive Adjectives Beginning with R
rational
realistic
reasonable
relaxed
reliable
resilient
resourceful
respectful
responsible
restrained
Positive Adjectives Beginning with S
scrupulous
self-aware
self-disciplined
sensible
sensitive
sentimental
serious
sincere
sociable
sophisticated
spontaneous
straightforward
strategic
strong
studious
subtle
supportive
Positive Adjectives Beginning with T
tactful
talkative
teachable
tenacious
tender-hearted
thankful
thoughtful
thrifty
tidy
traditional
tranquil
trusting
trustworthy
truthful
Positive Adjectives Beginning with U
unassuming
unconventional
understanding
unpretentious
unselfish
upbeat
Positive Adjectives Beginning with V
vivacious
Positive Adjectives Beginning with W
warm
welcoming
whimsical
wholesome
wise
witty
Neutral or “Negative” Adjectives
Some of the adjectives listed above are neutral in their meaning. It’s not inherently good or bad to be methodical or extraverted. The included words are intended to help put language to a description of your child. This descriptive knowledge is useful for making decisions about learning environments, motivation, extracurricular activities, and many other things.
Additionally, a few of the adjectives listed above may sound negative to you. Perhaps you associate the word aggressive with a negative character trait. In actuality, a successful athlete or salesperson may rely on that very trait to be the best in their field.
Try to emphasize the uniqueness of each person and the ways different personality traits can be positive when used constructively.
These 250 positive adjectives to describe your child can be used to aid your child with increasing self-awareness. Encourage them to lean into their strengths, while recognizing areas in which they want to develop further.
Character Building Resources
For resources to spotlight and encourage positive character traits, check out my 10-part character building series. Designed to focus on one character trait each month of a 10-month school year, it includes quotes and questions for discussion, video links, news articles, and more. Find links to all 10 articles on my Character Counts page.
Recommended Reading
For further reading about personality and learning styles, here are a few books I’ve found insightful.
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