Different temperaments and what care-givers can do to support the child
Easy/ Flexible temperament
As many as 40% of all Children fall into this group
Characteristics
Regular rhythms
Regular feeding and nap routines
Predictable
Positive
mood
Generally cheerful
Quick to adapt
New envirnonments
New people
New objects
Low intensity
React very mildly to negative
and positive situation
Doesn’t mean they
have no feelings
Their wish and needs are as great as any child’s
Need special attentions so that
so they don’t lost in the group
Caregiver checks in from time to time
Low sensitivity
Won’t be bothered by subtitle
stimuli, like sounds and textures
Sudden make a fuss and can be taken advantage of by other children
Fearful temperament
The slow to warm technique can be used in this temperament. Children need extra time to warm up and they need guidence to teach them slowly and step by step.
Trait children of this temperament would have : slow to adapt
withdrawals
Let’s look at the example given by the video Carla and her caregiver
Carala gets scared easily and uses her caregiver as her base for security. She immediately finds for her caregiver when new acitivity is introduced or when there is a lot of commotion at the play area. Her caregiver does not push her to do anything and rather starts to talk to her and calm her down in slow and warm manner. This is very important for children like Carla and she should not feel pressurised because that would make her situation become worse. Carala is resistant to do anything at the very beginning but after a small talk with her care giver, she is ready to explore the new activity and commotion. Her caregiver does not leave her after she warms up just in case to build up her confidence. She follows her untill she is comfortable and checks up on her every there and then .
Suggestions
Using goodness of fit — help children learn to adapt and function
For a difficult temperament child:
Remind the child of the pending change
Reduce frequency of changing space
Use redirection
For a easy temperament child:
Have constant checks as they have their needs as well
difficult temperament - feisty children
traits
distractable
sensitive
intense
irregular
active
moody
things can go really well or go out of hand
T17 Dawn Lee, Ofelia Lee, Thanushri, Gan Lui Xing