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Temperament and Personality
Most child development professionals, following a study by Thomas and Chess in the 1950s, hold that temperament is
inborn. Personality, by contrast, is influenced by environment and self-development.
The characteristics of temperament - nine categories, including Activity Level, Sensitivity, Adaptability, and
others - are sometimes regarded by parents as a source of frustration, since they are inborn and therefore not
subject to much change.
But the fact that inborn traits are stable can work to the parents' advantage. Individual humans are so complex and
varied that it can be difficult to develop effective strategies for healthy child development. The existence of
inborn traits, however, can help parents by providing an identifiable pattern on which to base their guidance.
The first important element in any parenting strategy is objectivity. That's a difficult status to achieve given
the enormous importance and value of the child, but much frustration can be avoided by making the attempt. But
objectivity does not mean emotional or value neutrality. It simply means honestly assessing the facts. Evaluation
of those facts, and deciding what actions to take is a later step.
Temperament is one area where objectivity is easier to achieve, since a variety of tests exist to help measure its
dimensions. Such tests are typically a mix of questionnaire, interview and observation of both parent and child.
Even an Internet questionnaire can represent a good first start.
Knowing whether your child is inherently more active, more easily distracted, exhibits a higher intensity of
emotional expression, and so forth is a good first step to understanding his or her nature. Parents would do well
to test and analyze their own temperaments, as well. Some temperaments mix better than others.
Beyond the inborn characteristics of temperament lies the vast realm of personality.
Personality is even more complex than temperament, and ideas about it correspondingly more controversial. Theories
abound about what shapes it and to what degree - environment, heredity, self-development. Added to the mix are the
many cultural factors around the world that differ with regard to parenting approach. Values, both individual and
social, make an objective assessment much more difficult.
Even so, non-professionals can readily recognize different personality types. Parents rapidly gain valuable
experience in assessing and dealing with the personality of his or her own child, especially when the child is not
the first.
That experience should not be too lightly dismissed, even in the face of a bewildering array of professional tests,
theories and advice. Good science requires taking seriously experimental data, whatever theory the parent may be
exposed to or inclined to favor.
Many parents are surprised to find that one child is so different from the other. They often wonder how this could
be and what could be attributed to their own parenting. Parents rest easier when they know that some inborn
features are just that, and can easily differ from one child to the next.
Knowing the actual nature of your child is the first step toward developing a sound parenting strategy. The results
are less frustrated parents and healthier children.
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