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Infant Temperaments
All Babies are Unique
Although parents of difficult babies often envy those who have calm ones, research shows that having a child with ahigh needs temperament is actually not a bad thing. Temperament is a child's early-appearing variation in emotional responses and reaction to the environment. It is a result of biological and environmental factors working toether throughout their development since conception, it is not based entirely on genetics.
Easy
what you need to know
Characterized by regular bodily functions, positive approach to new situations, adaptability, positive mood and non-intense reaction
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Raising children with this temperament is relatively easy in comparison because they respond favorably to various child-raising practices. They are are quick to adapt to different parental handling. Lucky you! You are probably getting more sleep then most other parents.
Slow to Warm Up
what you need to know
The slow to warm up child is characterized by low activity level and low intensity of reaction although they also have a tendency to withdraw from new situations, slow adaptability and somewhat negative in the mood.
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These children can adapt to new situations if they’re allowed to do that at their own pace. However, if pressured to do so, these children may fall back to their natural tendency to withdraw. Parents should try to adapt to create an environment where your baby can thrive, experience success, and develop their full potential.
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When visiting unfamiliar faces at an event or gathering you observe your baby needing to observe their surroundings first before being handed off to cooing strangers. Give your baby time to adjust, talk to them, introduce them to the crowd and talk to them about what you are doing. When your baby is ready, they will happily welcome others.
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High Needs
what you need to know
Difficult temperament is characterized by irregular bodily functions, withdrawal from new situations, slow adaptability, negative mood, and intense reaction.
Raising these children is difficult from the get-go.
But this is by no means the definition of being “difficult”.
Parents know when they have difficult babies.
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Difficult babies with an intense and highly reactive temperament tend to be crying a lot. They cry hard, they cry loudly and they are hard to soothe. They are also cranky babies. It is hard to get them to fall asleep and stay asleep. When they wake up in the middle of the night, they have trouble going back to sleep.
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Keep in mind, there are no good and bad babies. Differential susceptibility or the fact that children with a high needs temperament are disproportionately affected by parenting. They are more susceptible to the quality of parenting than easy children. This means, if you are able to patiently nurture your child's needs they have a better chance to succeed. Tough Love is not the answer to raising a child with this temperament, as it can make things worse. If you can remain calm, responsive, and sensitive the rewards will be tremendous.
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Combination
what you need to know
Combination temperament has a combination of easy, high needs and slow to warm up traits. You may find that some days your baby is happy and calm the entire day, while the next day they may be ornery, crying, and waking up easily with no real explanation.
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Keep in mind, it is the parents responsibility to adjust to the temperament needs of their child. They ways you change your own behavior and expectations bsed on your understanding of your baby. Overtime, with the support of caring parents your child will learn to manage their own temperament and adjust to the demands of daily life.
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