Words That Describe Your Child Funny

Today I'm sharing a list of 100+ positive adjectives to describe a child with a free printable poster of positive adjectives. I hope you enjoy and find it helpful!

You won't find phrases like "well behaved" or adjectives like cute, handsome, or intelligent in this list. They're all unique, positive ways to describe a child's personality. The free printable poster has a cheerful rainbow background and is perfect for classrooms or home use.

Have you ever noticed that the qualities we claim to value in adults are the same things we try to discourage in children?

We praise children for being quiet, coloring inside the lines, and standing still. Then we say we value innovation, determination, and authenticity.

We also tend to praise children's appearance constantly but don't really mention their personalities and actions in positive ways. This list of positive adjectives to call a child will help you change that!

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How to describe a child

Hearing the words people use to describe my child has made me very aware of the adjectives I use to describe her. Their descriptions have made me really stop and think about the messages our word choices unintentionally send our children.

Frequently we use kind of milk-toast adjectives like "great," focus on physical characteristics ("cute" or "pretty"), or praise a child for being so "smart."

There are a couple problems with always praising a child's appearance or constantly calling them "good" or "smart."

For one, girls are already bombarded with messages from society that their appearance matters, maybe more than anything else about them.

mom and daughter wearing superhero capes

Although no one means harm when they tell their daughter how cute she is or that she has a nice outfit, it helps reinforce the idea that how they look is more important then who they are. This can cause a lot of problems and confidence issues down the line!

Virtually everyone who talks to us when we're out tells us how pretty, beautiful, or cute our LG is. They tell us how my husband is going to jealously guard her from would-be boyfriends. Muñeca (doll) and princesa are favorite adjectives from our Miami family.

A few people do comment on how observant she is, but typically only after they've called her cute half a dozen times.

Related read: Printable gratitude journal for kids

I know it's super hard not to call your little one cute all the time. I've tried since day 1 to say other things to LG, but "cute" still slips out frequently because she is cute! But I consciously try to mention her other attributes, like her strength and determination, whenever possible.

Constantly praising a child's intelligence can also backfire. Although it's obviously fine to mention their smarts in moderation, a child may become afraid of doing anything that might make them look "stupid" if they've tied their identity to being "smart."

This kind of thinking can lead "talented" students to take less challenging classes and tasks because they've tied their identity to being a "good student" and are afraid of making less than straight A's (If you're a new reader – I have a Masters in Teaching and this is a topic we studied in developmental psychology and educational theory classes. It's fascinating stuff!)

It's also really important to read the research on how praise can backfire in the long run. Read Conditional Parenting – it's a game changer.

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By using more diverse adjectives to describe your child and mentioning their personality traits more than their appearance, you can help your child develop a more healthy and wholistic self-image and greater confidence!

How to use this list of positive adjectives

These adjectives are great for introducing new words to your child. Some of them are more advanced than others, which makes them the perfect way to introduce new words.

They're also useful for expanding your own repertoire of complements and descriptions.

Additionally, you can use these adjectives if your child has a school assignment to come up with a list of words to describe themselves.

Challenge your children to describe themselves and others in new, different ways each day of the week! See if you can all go an entire week without simply describing someone as nice, pretty, or great.

Make sure to grab the free printable poster (at the bottom of the post) with all 100+ positive adjectives so you can post it in your home or classroom for reference!

P in this list of positive adjectives now so you don't lose track of the post!

100+ positive adjectives to describe a child

Adaptable
Adventurous
Affectionate
Alert
Ambitious
Amiable
Astute
Attentive
Authentic
Aware
Awesome
Bold
Brave
Calm
Capable
Caring
Compassionate
Confident
Considerate
Consistant
Courageous
Courteous
Curious
Decisive
Dependable
Determined
Dexterous
Diligent
Diplomatic
Dynamic
Earnest
Encouraging
Energetic
Engaging
Enthusiastic
Fair
Fearless
Flexible
Focused
Forgiving
Forthright
Free-spirited
Friendly
Fun
Fun-loving
Generous
Gentle
Genuine
Giving
Graceful
Gracious
Happy
Hardworking
Honest
Hopeful
Humble
Humorous
Idealistic
Imaginative
Innovative
Insightful
Intuitive
Inventive
Joyful
Just
Kind
Lively
Loving
Loyal
Merry
Motivated
Motivational
Nurturing
Observant
Open
Open-hearted
Open-minded
Optimistic
Organized
Outgoing
Patient
Persistent
Playful
Positive
Precise
Punctual
Purposeful
Quick-witted
Radiant
Realistic
Reflective
Reliable
Resourceful
Sincere
Sociable
Social
Strong
Sympathetic
Trusting
Trustworthy
Upbeat
Vivacious
Warm
Welcoming
Wise
Zany

Free printable poster of positive adjectives

Here's a preview of the printable poster of positive adjectives! (The image is just a low-res preview, not the printable PDF)

If you'd like to reference this list of positive adjectives to describe a child, make sure to grab the free printable!

Download your printable poster of 100 positive adjectives here

This poster of positive adjectives matches a set of the growth mindset poster printables I shared recently. Make sure to stop by and grab your free printable growth mindset posters, too.

growth mindset poster free printables with rainbow background

More positive parenting resources

You can't pour from an empty cup. These free self-care ideas for moms can help you be the positive parent you want to be! There are also some free printable affirmation cards to help you out.