Serious Baby/toddler

My daughter has always been very serious. As a baby we had to work pretty hard to get her to smile. She is 3 now, and still comes across as very contemplative. She is quite introverted, but overall I would say she is a happy little girl. I think some people just have a quieter/more serious demeanor than others. I wouldn't worry about it.

Ya know, I wish people wouldn't do that -- comment on strangers' kids' personality traits. It's rude and judgmental. Unless people are going to tell a stranger how adorable their child is, they should just shut the heck up and stop labeling people.

Your child has a right to be serious if she wants. Ignore the rude strangers. Or maybe you can respond with, "And you're kind of intrusive and lack boundaries."

My older son was like that. My FIL called him a 'little old man', and said the best thing to ever happen to him was to have a little brother.

He is still a little reserved, but he is a happy, well-adjusted, smart young man. And he is having a wonderful college experience and makes good grades.

It is A-OK!!

Dawn

In America it seems that extroversion is expected. The go-getters, the A-type personalities are the ones that left everything they knew behind and came to this unknown land, so it is part of the genetics here. I am from the Netherlands where it is still much more common to want kids to be "seen not heard" so your daughter would be praised for being so well behaved!!!
Both my daughters are extremely sensitive and preferred sitting in the stroller under the cap so they could observe but feel safe in their own little space. People would ask me all the time how I got them to sit still in the stroller, well, I probably could not get them to come out in a mall or crowded area since they hate crowds and noise, still do (they are 11 and 14 now). There is a book that explains this trait of super sensitivity and can be found at Amazon.com. It is called "the highly sensitive child" by Elaine Aron. It has chapters by age group that are very helpful and starts with a little quiz to see if you child fits this temperament. It was pretty easy for me since I am highly sensitive myself, and naturally cut out all the tags before dressing my kids, and made sure there were no buttons to lay on, and sock were not too tight to leave indents in their ankles, etc. It applies not only to social situations but also to food preferences and clothing feel and how tight their ponytails can be, etc,etc. But it comes with lots of positives, like great sympathy for others, a strong artistic sense, the ability to play well with others, and every school teacher thinks my girls are model students. So relax and enjoy your little girl. But also have her hearing and vision checked.
http://www.amazon.com/Highly-Sensitive-Child-Children-Ove...

I was like that and turned out just fine.

Is she talking or babbling appropriately for her age, and responding appropriately when you speak to her? How is her vision? One of my granddaughters was like this as a toddler, we found she needed glasses. If your daughter is experiencing problems in hearing or vision it would account for her "concentration."

If those check out with a visit to her doctor I don't believe you need to be overly concerned, some children are just born serious (and sensitive.) I was that way and I'm OK ; )

My youngest, 27 months, is sooo like this. I often compare him to my SIL--she is the exact same. They even look alike too, makes me think how much our personalities are genetic in addition to environmental. I do have to say tho' at home, its pretty easy for me to get him to liven up a little bit. He has also hit a bit vocab/word burst so he's talking more, and I find he's becoming a little bit more humorous/lively.

When we are out and about, he barely talks and just trucks along and does his own thing. No smiles, very hard to read. I often wonder if he just chokes up in front of other people. I wouldn't worry about, I honestly believe some people are just 'thinkers' nothing wrong with it. Embrace it, if you really think their might be a problem I'd mention it to her Pediatrician and see what she thinks :)

My daughter was always getting that comment. She always just took everything in before she reacted in any way. She was always happy to be held by anyone, though, so we weren't worried about her social interactions.

Now, at 19 mo, she's much more smiley and goofy, but she still takes in new people and new situations/locations before she warms up to them.

Sounds like my daughter (now 9). I had countless people tell me she had to be autistic even because of it. Even now my mom thinks something is "off". I disagree and so do her teachers, although in preschool they did worry because while she would play with others, she would not go to them to do so, she would play alone or let others come play with her.

At 9 she is independent, well spoken, stands up to her friends when she disagrees. Has a ton of friends, and is well liked. Does well in school, and gets along with everyone. Is she more serious than others, sure, she isn't the class clown but she also sneaks books when the class has to put their heads down, and gets in trouble for talking when she shouldn't sometimes. All in all a "normal" little girl.

So if you are worried, talk to your doctor, and keep up on it once school starts and see what teachers say, but chances are everything is fine.

LOL I have a friend who cracks up over my middle son (age 7), who is as serious as a heart attack most of the time. He will be goofy and silly with family, but most of the time he's busy thinking and figuring things out and he's been that way since he was a baby. He's very earnest about things and sometimes seems like he has no room in his brain for joy, but it's there.

BTW Madeleine Albright described herself as a very serious child, so you perhaps you have a future leader on your hands!

I worried about the same thing in my older son, and often wondered if he was intellectually slower, and just didn't "get" humor. Now, at almost 15, he is the class clown, and we need to work on reining him in, and teaching him appropriate timing.
Kids are different and develop differently, you can relax.