Temperament: What It Is And Why It Matters
Parents and physicians often stress the importance of a child’s temperament. However, some may be unsure what temperament means and how it can be used when considering a parenting style.
For parents or caregivers, learning more about temperament can help you better understand your child’s behavior and use this understanding to support their healthy development. To start, it can be helpful to discover the meaning and importance of temperament, plus nine parenting strategies to support your child’s growth.
What is temperament?
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), temperament is the foundation of personality. This foundation comprises several dimensions, including energy level, mood, and eagerness to explore the world. While these traits are often seen as relatively stable over time, research has shown that some aspects of temperament can change.
Psychologists often view temperament as biologically determined and present early in life. However, temperament may also be influenced by a person’s family, culture, individual experiences, and other environmental factors.
The nine traits of temperament
One of the major studies on temperament came from the researchers Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess, who outlined the following nine traits of temperament:
- Activity Level: A child’s general amount of physical movement.
- Biological Rhythms: The predictability and variability of a child’s biological functions, including eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom
- Sensitivity: A child’s response to sensory information like sound, light, touch, smell, and taste
- Adaptability: A child’s tendency to accommodate or resist changes in their environment
- Approach and Withdrawal or Initial Reaction: A child’s openness to novelty, characterized by a tendency to either approach or withdraw from new people, environments, and experiences
- Intensity of Reaction: How strongly children react to various situations, especially emotional stimuli
- Persistence: A child’s ability to immerse themselves in tasks and persist through challenging problems
- Distractibility: A child’s attentiveness and how easily their attention is distracted
- Mood: A child’s natural tendency toward positivity or negativity
These traits often appear in “temperament type” or “style” groups, which include easy or flexible, active or feisty, and slow to warm or cautious. However, not all children may fit neatly into these three types, and some may have traits from different styles.
Why does temperament matter?
As a parent or caregiver, understanding your child’s temperament can help you determine how to support your child most effectively based on the traits they exhibit. Understanding their temperament can help you predict how your child might react to a particular situation so you can plan activities that honor their emotional needs and typical approach to the world.
Parenting for your child’s temperament: Nine strategies
If you’re caring for a child regularly as a parent, caregiver, or teacher, you may consider the following nine strategies for supporting children based on research’s current understanding of temperament.
Encourage physical activity and rest
Some children may naturally engage in more or less movement than others. A less active child may prefer stationary activities—like reading, drawing, or listening to music—and generally move more slowly. In contrast, an active child may benefit from high activity levels and have difficulty sitting for long periods.
Not one type or amount of activity may work the same for every child. Alternatively, parents can honor their children’s natural tendencies to engage in slower or more active hobbies. Children can develop a healthy balance of rest and movement by trying a range of activities and finding a form of physical exercise they enjoy.
Create routines
Some children benefit from consistent routines, which can help them feel safe and let them know what is happening next. It can also contribute to more self-regulated children. Helping a child develop a routine can vary depending on a child’s temperament. Those who are more “regular” may develop predictable schedules, whereas more variable children may not have predictable schedules and take longer to achieve specific developmental tasks.
Regardless of a child’s natural patterns for biological functions, routines can offer comfort, nurture their budding independence, and promote the child’s development of self-regulation. If your child seems to naturally have unpredictable sleeping or eating habits, try to keep this information in mind when working with them to develop routines and be patient.
Pay attention to their sensory processing
For example, your child may prefer to wear a specific material of clothing, finger paint with gloves, or play in an area with dimmer lights.
Practice flexibility
Routines can be beneficial for some children. However, the realities of life can be unpredictable sometimes. This unpredictability can be a powerful lesson for children to learn, especially if they struggle with change or transitioning to new activities.
The trait of “adaptability” refers to how comfortable children are with change and flexibility. Parents can help children practice flexibility by letting them know about any planned changes or deviations from their usual routine ahead of time when possible. When that’s not possible, you can try to be prepared to manage the child’s reaction to the change.
Be adventurous
Some children may have temperament characteristics like being natural explorers, while others may hesitate to enter unfamiliar spaces or meet new people without their parents or caregivers present. Parents can help children overcome these fears and cultivate their inner explorers by gently introducing them to new people, places, and ideas. You can pair novel experiences with familiar elements, like a favorite toy or friend, or commit to trying a new activity together every week or month.
Create varied spaces for play
More “intense” or reactive children tend to have more intense emotional responses. A very reactive child may benefit from more space to play, be boisterous, and feel the full extent of their emotions. Compared to reactive children, other youngsters may prefer quiet activities and areas where they can play and recharge. With these differences in mind, parents and teachers can create thoughtful spaces for varying intensities and styles of play.
Encourage their hobbies
Children may show preferences for specific activities and hobbies as they grow. Parents can take note of their children’s emerging interests and engage them in activities that vary in length and complexity. Parents can foster children's natural interests and encourage their pursuits by encouraging full, sustained engagement in fun activities and projects.
Limit distractions
In a digital world, distractions are everywhere—and some children are more susceptible than others. To help your child focus, pay attention to where and when you set up homework, playtime, and other daily activities. It may help to focus on one task, assignment, or game at a time and keep devices and screens at a distance. Setting boundaries around technology may also help promote focus and attention.
Lighten the mood
Depending on their temperament and the day, some children may be naturally more pessimistic than others. Parents and caregivers often understand what makes their children “tick” and how they can use their children’s favorite activities, toys, or games to uplift their spirits.
Other children may be naturally cheerier and more positive. If your child tends toward a more negative demeanor, it may be helpful to encourage playdates and friendships with upbeat peers. In doing so, you can gently encourage them to look for opportunities for joy, connection with peers, and positive thinking.
The value of therapy for parents
As you learn more about temperament and try to implement these and other strategies, you may find that you would benefit from additional guidance and expertise. Working with a therapist can help you to work through parenting challenges with an expert and incorporate new strategies into your life.
While some people may like to seek therapy in person, some parents may find it difficult to attend in-person sessions due to hectic schedules or childcare concerns. With online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp, you can meet with a licensed therapist wherever you have internet, including from home, which may make it easier to schedule for busy parents.
A growing body of research shows that online therapy can effectively address various concerns and populations, including parents. For instance, one such study analyzed the effectiveness of an online psychosocial group intervention for parents. The researchers studied a group of 73 parents of children with chronic illnesses. Parents who participated in the online group reported lower levels of anxiety and depression, as well as improved coping skills in communication, relaxation, and positive thinking. Online therapy interventions can make mental health support accessible to busy parents, couples, and caregivers.
Takeaway
It can be helpful to consider your child’s temperament when planning certain activities, managing their reactions, and supporting their development. For additional help with parenting concerns, you can connect with a licensed therapist. Every child’s approach to the world is unique, and a mental health professional can give parents various tools to promote their child’s growth.
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