The ENTP Family Life

ENTPs and their Family Structures

ENTPs need their freedom. Their dominant function, extraverted intuition, needs to explore the world and look for its patterns and they bring this need into their family life as well. It usually makes them open to and curious about every type of family structure possible. And because they have little patience with traditional values or restrictions, they usually have no problem with family dynamics and configurations that are different from the norm, or that other types would find inappropriate or intolerable.

ENTPs are extremely unlikely to assume or accept any traditional role in their family. They have a deep dislike for any restrictions on their thinking, behavior or growth, and will quickly find themselves very unhappy if these kinds of restrictions are forced on them. And ENTPs will encourage this kind of open, independent thinking and assignment of roles in their family members as well, encouraging them to challenge the status quo whenever possible. This can cause conflict if their partner or other family members are very traditionally minded, but it can also create a very open and accepting family that’s based on growth and development as well.

The Dark Side of Families

Anyone can get themselves into a bad situation or a destructive relationship and find it difficult to escape, but ENTPs are probably less likely to do so. Their deep need for independence means they’re usually quick to leave a relationship when someone tries to control and confine them. And this can save them from a lot of pain and turmoil. Though ENTPs aren’t likely to stay in any type of abusive relationship, they do need to take care that their need for independence doesn’t cause harm to people around them. This type usually expects others to be just as independent as they are and forgets that other types need more connection than they do. And if they don’t see and meet those needs, particularly when it comes to their children, ENTPs may inadvertently become neglectful in an emotional or mental sense.

Domestic Life and Potential Sources of Stress

ENTPs aren’t usually great planners. They prefer to leave their activities more open so they can explore whatever comes up. And this can be a problem for their family members. ENTPs may forget appointments, cancel them at the last minute, or not show up because something more interesting came along. This can cause stress and conflict for the family and make the ENTP seem undependable. ENTPs are also naturally disorganized. They’re a Perceiving type, which means they prefer to organize their minds and leave their outer world open to possibilities. And this preference can cause a lot of conflict and stress for other members of their family and completely ruin the family’s schedule.

Finances and other Responsibilities

ENTPs don’t like to take care of the details. They’re usually big picture people, who are more interested in exploring the world than cleaning it or doing its paperwork. When it’s absolutely necessary, this type can call on their extraverted feeling tertiary function to push them to look after the needs of the house, but these types of activities will never be very interesting or rewarding to them. ¹

ENTPs are usually fairly good at making money. Their quick, agile brains are always coming up with new ideas and there’s nothing they like more than trialing those ideas to see if they work in the external world. This can make them seem a little flighty because they usually like to start new things but not finish them, but it also means they’re usually happiest when they’re contributing to the family finances. Although this type is good at making money, they’re not so good at managing it. ENTPs just don’t enjoy this kind of minutia work so financial planning is probably best left to others who enjoy working out the details.

Going the Extra Mile in Families

ENTPs usually struggle when it comes to emotionally connecting to people in their family. Their auxiliary function is introverted thinking, which is concerned with facts and absolute truths, but can cause them to struggle to understand emotions. Because of this, ENTPs usually struggle with expressing themselves and with emotionally supporting others through a crisis. They’re much more likely to offer some practical advice and get themselves into trouble.

But even if they struggle in this sense, ENTPs have other strengths they can bring to their family life. They’re dedicated to personal growth and development, and will encourage this mindset in everyone around them. This can actually be a problem for them, as they may see and be attracted to people’s potential rather than their actual self. But if they can avoid this drawback, ENTPs will learn to accept the present while anticipating the future, and their belief and support can encourage others to grow into better people who bring lots of positive attributes into the world.

Final Thoughts

ENTPs are rational thinkers who tend to push the people around them to do better and be better. This has its drawbacks of course, but it can also encourage everyone in their family to seek out and find the best version of themselves and to keep working on their own strengths and weaknesses. And this can make for some very strong, smart families who are always striving to be better, and to bring better things to the world.

References

1. Dr. Drenth A. J. “ENTP Personality Type: The Intuitive Seeker“. (Retrieved Feb 2018).
2. “Judging vs. Perceiving“. (Retrieved Feb 2018).
3. “The Tertiary Function“. (Retrieved Feb 2018).
4. “ENTP – The Inventor“.

Footnotes

1. Extraverted feeling is very concerned with social norms and rules, so it makes people who use it very concerned with how others see them. And a big part of this is the appearance and cleanliness of the family home. But ENTPs use this as their tertiary function, which means that it’s underdeveloped an not a big influence on them.