Are some kids just predisposed to being sad?

I would take this with a huge pinch of salt. At this age they're only just starting to understand emotions so could well be muddling emotions. Also their perception is probably way off. Does she appear sad often to you, or could it be that she's remembering those bigger/less happy emotions more than she's remembering the happy ones so it seems as though they're more prominent?

Also how was she feeling when you asked her, and have you tried asking at different times of the day? I'm sure her feelings at the time would have affected her answer, much like it does for the rest of us. Ask me how I feel about work at 10am on a Saturday vs 10pm on a Sunday and you'll get two very different answers 😂

They are learning to verbalise "I am sad" but they don't just walk around saying "I am happy" when they're happy.

So, I was actually chatting to a psychologist recently and she said: Children’s surroundings in the first couple of years set up their base personality for life. If the first few years of their life are down and surrounded by sadness/depression they will grow up to be more sad and negative. If first few years are filled with happiness and laughter they will be predisposed to being happy and laughing, even when things go wrong. Not sure how true this is, I didn’t google it but it makes sense with all the brain growth that’s happening.

@Jess I think I agree Jess, goodness it’s hard. She’s very good at emotions and empathy for her age and she’ll tell me when she’s sad or happy because we’ve learnt emotions and she’s very quick to point out others happy or sad emotions too. Looks like I’m going to have to peg my lips back to smile more 😂😂 luckily her dad is a pretty happy chappy so he may even it out