BaZi for Children: Four Things Parents Can Actually Use
Many parents cast their child's BaZi wanting to know three things: what kind of person this child is, whether anything needs adding, and how things will turn out. BaZi offers a good many clues on the first two. On the third, it can say far less than you might expect. This page sticks to the four things parents can really use.
Four things parents can use
| What to look at | Where it is in the chart | How it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Temperament | The Day Master (the day pillar's Heavenly Stem) | Understanding the child's nature: outgoing or reserved, quick or unhurried |
| Parenting approach | The main Ten God group (the heaviest of the five) | Finding the way of talking the child actually hears |
| Missing elements | Elements absent from the chart, checked against favorability | Avoiding "add whatever is missing" going the wrong way |
| Childhood luck | Start age, minor luck before it, the first luck pillar | Knowing when the rhythm of the child's life begins |
How we counted: our engine cast one chart for every day from 1960 to 2005, with the birth hour drawn by a fixed-seed random sample and male and female charts alternating, 16,802 charts in all. Missing elements are counted from eight characters (the four stems plus each branch's main hidden stem); favorable and unfavorable elements come from our strength engine.
A curious, expressive Gui Water boy
Born May 10, 2022, Chen hour (7–9 a.m.), boy
- Day Master: Gui Water, quiet and imaginative, a close observer.
- Main Ten God group: the Yin Wood year branch and the Yi Wood month stem are both Wood, which for Gui Water is Output (Water produces Wood), the heaviest of the five groups. That makes him "the curious, expressive child." Full of ideas and always asking why. Give chances to say things and make things; explaining a rule works better than issuing an order.
- Five elements: Wood 2, Fire 2, Earth 1, Metal 0, Water 3; missing Metal. This Gui Water is weak, and Metal, which produces Water, is exactly a favorable element, so adding a little of it makes sense.
- Childhood: his luck pillars only begin at age 10. Before that, minor luck starts in 2022 with Ding-Si and changes every year. The first luck pillar, Bing-Wu (Direct Wealth), begins in 2031 and its ten years run from about fourth grade to the end of high school.
Read your child's BaZi
Enter your child's date of birth to see the Day Master's temperament, the main Ten God group and what it means for parenting, which elements are missing (and whether to add them), the age luck pillars begin, and the minor luck before then. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Uses the Gregorian birth date, with the day changing at 11 p.m. If the time on the birth certificate falls during daylight saving time, subtract one hour first; see correcting your birth time.
What matters in each of the four
- Temperament: the Day Master is the character closest to the child: Bing Fire outgoing, Gui Water quiet, and so on. It describes a natural leaning, which family and surroundings keep adjusting. For all ten, see the ten Day Masters.
- Parenting approach: each of the five main Ten God groups covers roughly a fifth of children, and none of them is the "easy" kind. Details in parenting by the Ten Gods.
- Five elements: about 69.5% of charts are missing at least one element, but 29.2% of the missing ones are unfavorable. What to add is the favorable element, not the missing one; see your child's missing element.
- Childhood luck: luck pillars begin at age 6.1 on average, and nearly half begin at 7 or later. Before that, tradition looks at the month pillar and minor luck; see before luck pillars begin.
Three common misunderstandings
A child's BaZi shows whether they will achieve great things.
BaZi describes tendencies and rhythm, not a scale of achievement. The same chart grows into very different people in different families and surroundings.
Whatever is missing has to be added.
29.2% of missing elements are unfavorable, and adding them backfires. What to add is the favorable element.
A child has no luck before the luck pillars begin.
Before then, tradition looks at the month pillar and "minor luck," which changes every year. It is just that at this age children mostly move with the family, and parents matter far more than the chart.
Read on
A straight word: BaZi is a mirror for understanding your child, not a script written for them
A child's character is shaped all the way along by family, school and friends. BaZi can only describe the directions they tend to grow in by nature. Used to understand why a child is the way they are, it can be a real help; used to predict what they will become, or to choose their path for them, it is being used in the wrong place. We do not cover health or medicine, and we do not make verdicts such as a child "clashing with" a parent. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
At school now? See learning styles and exam luck
The study pages look at Resource, Output, the Academic Star and exam years to see how your child learns best; the in-depth reading covers all 12 facets.
Children's BaZi FAQ
What should parents look at in a child's BaZi?
Four things are most useful: the Day Master's temperament, the main Ten God group and the parenting approach it suggests, which elements are missing and whether to add them, and when luck pillars begin, along with the minor luck before then.
Should I add whatever element my baby's BaZi is missing?
Not necessarily. In our test charts, 29.2% of missing elements are unfavorable, and adding them backfires. What to add is the favorable element.
At what age do a child's luck pillars begin?
It is worked out from the distance between the birth date and the nearest solar term before or after. In our test charts the average is about 6.1; about 24.4% begin by age 3 and about 46.0% at 7 or later.
Can I use BaZi to decide what my child should study or do?
We would not. BaZi can help you understand your child's leanings and how they communicate, but their interests and abilities come first. The chart is a reference, not a basis for deciding for them.