Year of the Rat

Children that are born under the Sign of the Rat love to be cuddled. When young, the Rat child can be enormously dependent upon its parents for support, but later in life they can develop natural leadership qualities. All Rats eventually begin to exhibit active intellects, such that they require regular naps to provide them with plenty of sleep. In school, the young Rat child is eager to learn. Rat children enjoy collecting things, and like to fill their bedrooms with stamps, shells, bottle caps, or any one of a hundred collectible objects. Generally, young Rats are smart little people who are very apt pupils in school. They are well-rounded individuals, and many of them excel at sports, too. Being born members of the first Sign of the Chinese zodiac can give Rat kids a superiority complex!

Year of the Ox

Children born under the sign of the Ox are quiet and amenable. They develop into solid, independent, resourceful children, and are happiest when left to entertain themselves. If interrupted, provoked or forced to do something against their will, they are likely to pout or throw a quiet tantrum, despite their audience. Generally, Ox children are shy, and for many, childhood is quite lonely -- this is due partly to their preference for solitude and partly to the disparate age range of their siblings. At school, subjects with a constructive appeal will be of the most interest to them. They are also very interested in organized sports and can be very active when properly motivated. Children born under the Sign of the Ox are respectful, polite and hardworking.

Year of the Tiger

Tiger kids are cheerful children with a zest and passion for life that is ignited by their curious nature. Boys and girls alike will enjoy the competitiveness and athleticism of organized sports. From an early age, Tiger children cannot pass on a dare or a challenge. Intelligent and friendly, Tiger children manifest a vast curiosity about life in general and their immediate environment in particular. In school, they are apt to do better at subjects that give them the ability and creative freedom to express themselves. When it comes to rote learning, they are apt to balk and become disruptive, but this is not due to any intellectual failings on their part, merely with how the material is presented to them. Tiger children are more inclined to be audiovisual learners rather than text-based learners.

Year of the Rabbit

Rabbits can be very hypersensitive as children. They tend to let their emotions get the best of them and will cry without shame if their world is threatened. At school, these children often get teased for being so sensitive and will be labeled as crybabies by their classmates. Rabbit children are especially close to their mothers and maintain an exceptionally close relationship with them throughout their lives. They depend on their mothers for advice and support and will reciprocate when necessary. Rabbit children are desperate for stability and routine and require a great deal of accurate scheduling in order to do their best work. Like the adult Rabbit, Rabbit children are likely to be quite interested in the arts, particularly in music, a subject in which most Rabbit children do very well at school.

Year of the Dragon

Like their adult counterparts, children born in the Year of the Dragon have vivid personalities and are independent from birth. Noisy and active, parents should stimulate their imaginations as soon as possible. Their inquisitive natures can be troublesome for the Dragon child, and can often land them in trouble at school. This can cause teachers to label them as habitual troublemakers, when they're really just bored. Dragon children tend to be loners who daydream and drift into their own private world of make-believe. Either way, Dragon children demand careful attention and special handling in order to bring out the best in them. Their creativity and talents should be encouraged, even if it means spending extra time in certain school subjects in order to help them master the subject.

Year of the Snake

Snake children are often loners, enjoying playing by themselves, quietly in their yards or bedrooms. They are often hampered with learning disabilities and thus need patience from teachers and parents. If they are forced to pay attention they can often respond by drifting off into their own private dream world -- they cannot be made to enjoy any given topic if they take a dislike to it! Teachers and parents may have to lavish extra time and attention upon the Snake child in order to keep him or her up to date with all of the other children of their age group. When picked on or upset, Snake children tend to pout and hold grudges, and if publicly embarrassed or humiliated, they will lash out at their tormentor with no hold barred.

Year of the Horse

Horse children are highly talkative and love to hear the sound of their own voice, even when it's spouting nonsense, as it so often is. At an early age these kids begin gurgling and "talking" to everyone in earshot. They will babble for hours without saying anything at all. In the long run these children will prove to have a great gift for learning foreign languages and will generally excel at communication skills. Horse children are as independent as possible and will fight for their rights if they feel they’ve been wronged. They will also rebel if they feel justice has not been served. This can make them quite a handful for parents who may not be able to dispense justice among their children in as even- handed a fashion as their Horse child may require.

Year of the Goat

Goat children are very sensitive. They cry at the drop of a hat, especially if their feelings are hurt or they are embarrassed. Often they will cry and indulge in grand temper tantrums in order to get what they want, and this behavior should be discouraged in them as quickly as possible. They are dependent on their parents and love to be affectionate with other members of their family. Goats do not exhibit a great deal of self-confidence, with the result that their parents and teachers are generally responsible for encouraging them to bring out their inherent artistic natures. They are well-behaved, well- mannered children, who despise aggression and conflict. Goats can often be bossy towards their younger siblings.

Year of the Monkey

Little Monkeys are full of life. They are vivacious and colorful characters, curious about everything, but rarely plumbing the depths of any single subject in order to achieve mastery. Monkeys can’t sit still for long and concentrating is not always easy for them. In school they are sharp and intellectual, finding schoolwork easy to do. However, they can be the class clown, but not without consequences. Their antics can be disturbing to other children, which can land them in a heap of trouble. Monkeys will be in for their share of disciplinary action if they cannot be logically convinced to curb their disruptive behavior for the good of their fellow students. Mere discipline in heavier and heavier doses will be insufficient, as it will merely cause the Monkey child to increase their rebellious behavior.

Year of the Rooster

Children born in the Year of the Rooster are generally very bright and strikingly intelligent, often learning to read at a very early age. They tend to be highly creative and alert. They easily play and interact with other children and generally like to learn new things. They are eager to please parents and teachers alike. However, Rooster children do not make the best scholars and they tend to excel in subjects where interaction and social skills are required. They are not fond of study and need to be carefully chivvied towards the goal of the more cerebral types of learning. Rooster kids are very outgoing, and if anything need to be carefully restrained from the more socially unacceptable varieties of boisterous behavior -- such as frequent public nudity.

Year of the Dog

Children born under the Sign of the Dog are highly creative and able to entertain themselves for hours on end. They don’t mind playing by themselves, often inventing games and puzzles while doing so, as well as an entire zoo of imaginary friends. They are responsible children who love to take on and complete as many tasks as are possible, as such behavior gives them a sense of accomplishment. Parents of Dog children may become concerned about their child's serious nature, but they shouldn't be -- such determination in the face of life must certainly stand their child in good stead throughout their educational career, not to mention the real world thereafter. They should count themselves very fortunate!

Year of the Pig

Children born under the Sign of the Pig in the Chinese zodiac are intensely jolly and pretty, although they may, true to their Sign, have a slight problem with baby fat. This weight problem is not unhealthy, however, and will generally iron itself out around puberty. These children have little or no problem learning how to interact with other kids on the playground, and are generally very popular in the schoolyard, with lots of friends from grammar school on up the grades. Pig kids have unswerving confidence in themselves and in others, and are generally not susceptible to nervousness or uncertainty about their future. Life holds nothing but good things in store for them, and they seem to know this ahead of time!