About Temperament
Behavior Management
Toddler
Do you wish you had an instruction book for your toddler?
Does your toddler tend to be more
Strong-willed and feisty?
- Always on the move?
Difficulty with sleep?
Resists dressing or getting in the car seat? - Temper Tantrums? Hard to discipline—Won’t mind, Won’t stop?
Hitting, biting, won’t share? - Distractible?
Interrupts?
Cautious and fearful?
- Clingy, cries when left with a new sitter?
Holds back in new situations?
Rejects new food or clothes? - Gets easily upset in crowds?
Not involved with other children?
Unassertive?
Afraid of dogs and cats? - Tantrums?
At the Preventive Ounce, you can:
Fill in a temperament questionnaire and immediately see a profile of your toddler’s temperament. The thumbnail examples below show how different toddlers are in terms of low or high Sensitivity, Movement, Intensity, Adaptability and more.
What are your toddler’s traits? (Click for enlargement)
Toddler 1
Toddler 2
Learn what specific behavior issues are normal for your toddler. Child behavior depends in large part on temperament. For example:
- It’s normal for high-energy, emotionally intense toddlers to push the limits and show aggression.
- It’s normal for sensitive, cautious toddlers to experience separation anxiety.
- Adults who don’t understand temperament may describe your toddler as aggressive, stubborn, hyper, or just plain “bad.”
Then learn how to manage behavior issues in ways that are tailored to your child’s temperament.
Once you know what to expect, the Preventive Ounce website explains how to manage the issues that are normal for your child. Knowing your toddler’s temperament helps you understand what triggers problem behaviors. Then you can prevent some meltdowns, calmly offer support during others, and gradually teach more mature ways to behave.
Learn to work with inborn traits… rather than struggle against them. Gradually, over the preschool years, you can help your child begin to manage his or her own temperament traits—a valuable lifetime skill.
History: The temperament traits discussed here were first described over in the 1940s by Dr. Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas. Since then, more than 40,000 parents have used the Preventive Ounce to make parenting easier and to avoid unnecessary blame and guilt.
Who should use this program? ALL parents. Every child has a temperament, and every temperament has different issues and risks.
For only $10, a 1-year family membership lets you:
- Fill out 4 temperament profiles on 4 different infants, toddlers, or preschoolers, or different adults can complete profiles on the same baby/child.
- Have access to individualized parenting strategies for 1 year.
Your $ also help maintain and upgrade this non-profit website. Thank you.