My Child's Character Strengths:
VIA Framework Guide and 24 Examples

When parents ask "what are my child's strengths?", the first answers that surface are usually vague: "she's good at maths" or "he's very curious." But how reliable are these observations — and which qualities represent your child's deepest, most enduring strengths, independent of grades, teacher comments, or any given day's performance?

This guide focuses on your child's character strengths — the personality traits that make them who they are. Our framework is the VIA (Values in Action) Character Strengths model, used by over 15 million people in 190+ countries and developed by positive psychology pioneers Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson.

What Is a Character Strength?

Character strengths are the positive personality traits that feel most natural to a person — the qualities they express consistently, often with little effort, across different situations. The VIA framework identifies 24 of these traits, grouped under 6 core virtues shared across cultures worldwide.

Character strengths are a separate dimension from cognitive strengths. A cognitive profile shows "how your child thinks" — verbal, numerical, and spatial reasoning capacity. A character profile shows "who your child is" — traits like curiosity, perseverance, empathy, and integrity. Together they form a child's complete portrait.

The VIA Framework: 6 Virtues and 24 Character Strengths

The VIA framework groups the 24 character strengths under 6 core virtues. Each virtue contains 3–5 related strengths. Your child's "signature strengths" — their most dominant 5 traits — emerge from within these 24.

All 24 Strengths: How They Appear in Children

Every strength has its own signature in children. Below, each one is described in terms of observable behaviour. Tick the ones you see consistently in your child — the 5 you tick most often point to their signature strengths.

Wisdom

• Creativity: Generates original ideas in play, drawing, and problem-solving; actively looks for new ways to approach familiar tasks.
• Curiosity: Asks endless "why?" and "how?" questions; explores topics they find interesting without being prompted.
• Judgement (Critical Thinking): Weighs different perspectives before deciding; not easily swayed by "everyone does it this way" — they look for evidence and reasons.
• Love of Learning: Enjoys acquiring new knowledge for its own sake, whatever the topic; seeks to go deeper even outside school.
• Perspective: Sees situations in a broader context; makes observations that seem mature for their age and can hold a real conversation with adults.

Courage

• Bravery: Doesn't avoid difficult situations; speaks up when they believe something is right, even under pressure.
• Perseverance: Doesn't give up once they've started something; obstacles slow them down but don't stop them.
• Honesty: Tells the truth even when it's hard; what they say matches what they do; no performance, just themselves.
• Zest: Approaches life with energy and enthusiasm; gives full attention and effort to what they're doing.

Humanity

• Love: Nurtures close relationships with care; warmth and affection come naturally and genuinely.
• Kindness: Gets genuine satisfaction from helping others; looks for opportunities to assist without being asked.
• Social Intelligence: Reads the emotional atmosphere in a room quickly; has an intuitive sense of how to approach different people.

Justice

• Teamwork: Puts the group's success above personal gain; genuinely prefers winning together to winning alone.
• Fairness: Strong sense of "that's not fair"; advocates for rules applied equally to everyone; dislikes favouritism.
• Leadership: Organises groups naturally; works to include everyone in the process and is uncomfortable when someone is left out.

Temperance

• Forgiveness: Doesn't carry grudges; prefers to repair a relationship over seeking revenge.
• Humility: Doesn't inflate achievements; notices and acknowledges others' contributions and qualities.
• Prudence: Thinks before acting; considers the consequences of choices in advance; avoids decisions they'll regret.
• Self-Regulation: Can manage emotions and impulses; able to say no; can brake before reacting.

Transcendence

• Appreciation of Beauty: Genuinely moved by music, art, nature, or a perfectly written sentence; has frequent "wow" moments.
• Gratitude: Notices and remembers the good things others do; says thank you without being prompted.
• Hope: Maintains an optimistic view of the future; says "it'll get better" in hard moments — and means it.
• Humour: Enjoys making others laugh; uses humour to ease tension; finds the lighter side of situations.
• Spirituality: Interested in questions of meaning and purpose; genuinely asks "why are we here?" and "what's the point of it all?"

How Do I Discover My Child's Signature Strengths?

Signature strengths — a child's most dominant 3–5 character traits — emerge most reliably when three methods are combined:

Phrases for School Forms and Parent Reports

School registration forms, student profile reports, and admission interviews frequently ask: "What are your child's strengths?" Replace generic answers with character-specific, concrete phrases. The ready-made examples below can be used directly:

• He is genuinely curious — he researches topics that interest him without prompting and goes well beyond what the curriculum covers.
• She is highly perseverant — when she faces a setback she doesn't give up; she tries different approaches until she reaches her goal.
• He is deeply honest — what he says matches what he does, and he tells the truth even when it's uncomfortable.
• She shows strong empathy — she quickly notices how others around her are feeling and looks for ways to help.
• He is a natural team player — he puts group success above personal recognition and genuinely prefers achieving things together.
• She has a well-developed sense of fairness — she notices and speaks up when rules aren't applied equally to everyone.
• He is creative in his problem-solving — he finds original routes to solutions and isn't afraid to think outside the expected approach.
• She expresses gratitude readily — she notices and remembers kindnesses, and thanks people without being reminded.
• He brings real optimism to difficult situations — when things go wrong he believes they'll improve, and that attitude is contagious.
• She has strong self-regulation — she can manage her emotions and impulses, and knows when to pause before reacting.
• He has a genuine love of learning — whatever the subject, he enjoys the process of understanding new things for its own sake.
• She shows natural leadership — she organises groups, makes sure everyone is included, and is bothered when someone is left out.

Character Profile + Cognitive Profile = The Full Picture

Character strengths are one half of your child's portrait. The other half is their cognitive profile: verbal, numerical, spatial, and non-verbal reasoning capacity. Together they tell a much more complete story.

Consider: a child with strong curiosity and love of learning combined with high verbal reasoning thrives in the IB Diploma's analytical writing-heavy structure. A child with strong perseverance and self-regulation can succeed in numerically demanding programmes even with a mid-range cognitive profile, because sustained effort compounds over time. Knowing how these two profiles interact moves school and curriculum decisions from instinct to evidence.