What Is Temperament?

Children’s attitudes toward the outside world are known as their temperament.

Consider your child’s temperament in terms of how much or little they exhibit each of these three characteristics:

• Reactivity is the intensity with which a youngster responds to something, such as an exciting event or not getting their way. Children that react quickly often have strong feelings.
• Children’s ability to control their behaviour, including how they express their emotions, is known as self-regulation. It also has to do with how well kids can focus and how persistent they are.
• Children’s sociability refers to how at ease they are in new situations or with unfamiliar individuals.
• Children are born with unique temperaments, and when your child was a baby, you probably know how to describe your child’s temperament.

Match your upbringing to your child’s temperament

You cannot change your child’s temperament. Your child is who they are and that’s great.

But you can support your child’s development by adapting your parenting to your child’s temperament. You can help your child develop the positive sides of their temperament. And you can understand the situations that your child finds difficult because of their temperament and help them to deal with these situations.

Here are some ideas on how to adapt your parenting to your child’s temperament.

Parenting more and less reactive temperaments

More reactive

If you have a very reactive child, chances are your child gets very excited when something good happens. But your child might also be loud and dramatic when they’re unhappy about something, such as not getting their way. You may need to help your child respond more calmly – for example, by relaxing and using words for angry feelings.

Reactive children are also often very physically active and may need a lot of time outdoors. You can support your child in his development, for example by encouraging him to try new sporting activities. But your child may also need help unwinding, so relaxing before bed can be a good idea.

Less reactive

A less reactive child is usually easy to get along with but may be less assertive. You may need to help your child learn how to stand up for themselves. For example, if you notice situations where your child might be more assertive, you could encourage your child to practice handling those situations differently.

It Is also important to ensure that less reactive children are not left out of family discussions. For example: “Harper, you didn’t say much. Are you happy with this film choice?’

Children who are less reactive may also be less physically active. Your less active child will be happiest when they have plenty of opportunities to use their fine motor skills, like crafts or drawing. But maybe you need to encourage physical activity. For example, try a trip to the park to collect leaves for a collage. Or make sure you both walk to the library if you can instead of driving.

Parenting more and less self-regulated temperaments

Rather self-regulated

Children who find it easier to self-regulate are good at remaining calm when they are experiencing emotions such as frustration or excitement. You can calm down more quickly after something exciting or exciting and are less impulsive. A child who Is highly self-regulated may also be better able to manage their attention. For example, they could probably keep going with something until it’s right. They are also good at dealing with setbacks and can handle tasks such as homework without much supervision. But they might be a bit of a perfectionist, so make sure they know it’s okay to make mistakes.

Less self-regulated

If your child has trouble regulating their attention, they need a lot of encouragement to keep going on difficult tasks. These children can easily switch from one activity to another. They can also be very creative. To help your child focus, you can try rewarding your child or making things fun using games and creative activities.

Parenting more and less sociable temperaments

Sociable

If your child is very social, they will enjoy socializing with other people, having play dates and engaging in group activities. But you don’t need to keep organizing playdates and activities for your child because it’s also important for your child to learn to occupy themselves.

Children with a more sociable temperament tend to be very adaptable, too, and cope fairly well with changes in everyday life. It’s great when you can bring lots of new experiences to your adaptable child, but make sure your child still has time with you.

Less Sociable

If your child isn’t very social, they’re probably pretty good at playing on their own and may not need a lot of help to find something to do. But maybe you need to help this kid make friends. For example, if your child doesn’t feel comfortable in groups or parties, you could try inviting just one or two friends over to a playdate at your home or the park.

If your less sociable child is not very adaptable, they will enjoy being on a regular schedule and may not cope well with change. This can make it easier for you to plan things around your child’s daily schedule, but your child may also need help managing changes or transitions.