Temperament
Linda Drew
Rainbows Conference 2012
What is your ideal child? (circle the ones that describe your “ideal” child)
Active
Cooperative
Independent
Obedient
Predictable
Confident
Sense of humor
Approaching
Dependable
Industrious
Persistent
Playful
Curious
Takes risks
Cautious
Honest
Loyal
Quiet
Assertive
Sensitive
Spirited
Temperament preferences vary between cultures.
What traits are highly valued in your #ece program?
Is there a “fit” between those values and individual children? What issues arise when families when there is not a “fit”?
Is there a “fit” between the values of the program and those of the staff? If not, what issues arise?
Does the physical environment and curriculum meet the needs of the kids in the program?
9 different traits have been identified top 3 in the USA are:
Flexible Pooh
40% of most groups of children are flexible/easy
not very challenging to teachers/parents.
Fearful Piglet
15% slow to warm, fearful and shy
Feisty Tigger
10% The difficult child
35% don’t fit into the above “top 3”
(Eeyore should be up there too!)
temperaments…
…remain fairly constant throughout life
…begin to appear in the first few months of life
we lean techniques that help us regulate/moderate our “extreme” temperamental traits
She had us take the SELF Temperament Assessment Scale and then do one for a couple of the children in the class, preferably a child who posed some challenges. Then we are going to chart and visually see WHY there was a “challenge”…
Assessment categories are:
Activity level
Regularity
Adaptability
Approach/Withdrawl
Physical Sensitivity
Intensity of Reaction
Distractibility
Pos/Neg Mood
Persistence
The instructor is having us graph our temperament scale and that of a child in our program who is posing a challenge. Many times we are the complete opposite of the child and that = challenge.
But WE (as the adult) need to adapt to the child. Have the environment adapt to meet the needs of the child.
She also has temperament questions to ask PARENTS about their children.
They are from a Zero to Three publication called Tuning Into Your Child, pages 19-37
Are you an INNIE or an OUTTIE? Introvert? Extrovert? Or a perfect balance of both = ambivert
Summary:
Temperament may be the reason we “fit” or “click” with some and not with others. Understanding our own and that of others can assist in our interpersonal relations and communication skills.
