Accommodating Different Temperaments

Early childhood professionals can do many things to value children's different personalities. The
following eight strategies will help early childhood professionals be more conscious and accepting of
personality and temperament differences.

1. Observe children's behavior. Write down children's likes and dislikes. Notice when children do not
readily adjust to a new situation. The information from your observations and anecdotal records will
help you plan future activities, experiences, and classroom arrangements.

Nancy's Experience
Jamie, a four-year-old, had been in school for eight days. On Monday the petting zoo traveled to her
class. Jamie was terrified of the boa constrictor and displayed his fright by screaming and clinging to
Nancy, his teacher. In contrast, Lisa, another four-year-old, was the first volunteer to touch the boa.
Jamie and Lisa have different temperament characteristics, particularly those of reaction intensity and
adaptability. Nancy carefully observed Jamie and Lisa to determine whether their behaviors were
responses to the reptile or if they were generalized across other situations. Nancy spoke with Jamie,
Lisa, and all of the other children in her class, and told them that she understood how they felt and
that they each were unique.

2. Consider classroom arrangement. Classroooms should be arranged and modified based on the
different temperaments of the children who reside there (Eddowes & Aldridge, 1990). Appropriate
classroom arrangement should be based on careful observation of the children. Arrangements should
accommodate the personality variations of the children.

Linda's Experience
Linda, an early childhood teacher, had several children in her class who were easily distracted. She
rearranged the room to create more one- to two-child spaces at activity centers. She also changed
two more centers so that when children were working at them they would have their backs to the door
or window. These minor changes helped the distractible children focus more effectively.

3. Provide a variety of activities. The more you use closed-ended activities, the less you value
children's differences. For every classroom activity, plan alternatives and choices if at all possible. For
instance, children who are slow to warm up may not want to share during circle time. Provide
alternate methods of sharing, including writing or drawing in a journal, and simply sharing with a friend
or smaller group.

Tanya's Experience
Tanya's students displayed a wide range of activity levels and attention spans. Tanya worked hard to
provide projects and center activities which could be accomplished with varying amounts of
persistence and activity. In the puzzle area, for example, Tanya placed puzzles of different degrees of
complexity. She also planned some projects which could be completed within one activity time and
other more in-depth projects which took periods of several days to complete.

4. Investigate non-school-related influences. A child who occasionally acts difficult may not have a
difficult temperament. Often a child's behavior is caused by stress from other environments. The
behavior may be situationally induced. Discussions with the child's parents or other caregivers may
identify the root of the difficult behavior.

Whitney's Experience
For the first week of school, Yolanda always smiled. She was a leader of her peers, and a polite,
helpful student. During the second week of school, however, Yolanda hit Paul on the head with a
block, and knocked Kristy down on the playground. Yolanda also required help in choosing an activity
each time a choice was offered. Whitney, Yolanda's teacher, talked with Yolanda casually in an
attempt to determine a cause for her behavior change, but could discern none. Whitney then called
Yolanda's parents and found out that Yolanda's father had lost his job on Friday of the first week of
school. Yolanda had apparently related to her family's trouble by acting in ways not usual for her
temperament. Whitney decided that it was best to avoid making judgments about children's
temperaments until she had seen consistent behavior over a period of time.
5. Assess your own temperament. Consider your own temperament traits and the traits you prefer in
children. Identify your preferences by making a list of children's behaviors which trouble you and
which you enjoy. Be aware of your own vulnerabilities when interacting with children.

Ginny's Experience
Ginny was a teacher of four-year-olds in a child care center. Ginny's temperament qualities included
high persistence, low activity, and regularity of patterns. Although she was generally pleasant in mood
and easily adapted to new situations, Ginny became aware that certain traits in children irritated or
upset her. Children who were eager and active sometimes caught Ginny off guard. They would
approach her with an "I'm ready to do something new" attitude before Ginny was ready to present a
new activity. Ginny learned to say, "I am glad that you have enjoyed the center which we have today.
Let's see if there is a different way to work at the center which is out right now."Ginny also found that
she was different from children who had an apathetic approach to people and activities in the class.
For instance, Juan quietly flitted from one part of the room to another and appeared unable to find an
activity which interested him for any period of time. Ginny's challenge was to avoid feeling that Juan
was wrong for the way he behaved just because he behaved differently. Ginny tried to help Juan find
the subject or approach which interested him most and gave Juan ample opportunities to enjoy things
the way he liked them.

6. Evaluate your curriculum and teaching methods. Sometimes what we teach and how we teach are
not flexible enough to accommodate all of the temperaments with which we work. Evaluate your
curriculum and teaching methods or, better yet, have a coworker evaluate them for you.

Karen's Experience
Karen, an early childhood teacher, and Scott, another teacher, decided to study children's
temperaments in the classroom. Karen asked Scott to observe her children, classroom arrangement,
and teaching methods, and jot down comments. Scott observed Karen in her classroom and made
several observations including that Karen preferred children with easy temperaments and avoided
children with difficult temperaments. This observation helped Karen to monitor her own behavior and
spend more time with certain children.

7. Choose appropriate guidance techniques. A guidance technique that works for one child may not
work with another. Guidance techniques often do not take temperament differences into account.
Careful observation and anecdotal record-keeping can help you guide young children's behavior.

Carlos's Experience
Carlos, a preschool teacher, had always been aware that children react differently to guidance
strategies. Carlos could see how five-year-old Mason's easy adaptability and low reaction intensity
caused him to be almost blindly obedient. A slightly disapproving look from Carlos made Mason
adjust his behavior. With other children in his class, Carlos had to spend more time and use different
techniques.

8. Share information with parents. A parent is the child's first teacher. Parents can tell teachers much
about their child's temperament. Sometimes a parent's description of his or her child is different from
how the teacher perceives the child. A parent/child/teacher partnership can help make transitions
between home and school easier and less stressful for everyone.

Steve's Experience
Steve had noticed how quiet and reluctant Kita was at school. Steve spoke with Kita's father about her
behavior. Kita's father was very surprised and described Kita as the oldest of three children and as
talkative and sometimes overbearing. Steve told Kita's dad that Kita was one of the youngest children
in the class and that she might be intimidated because she is not accustomed to dealing with older
peers.

Conclusion
Temperament and goodness of fit are important concepts for early childhood professionals to learn
and use in daily interactions with children. Healthy social and personality development occurs in
young children when there is compatibility between the child and the demands and expectations of
the teacher and center environment. A teacher's understanding and respect for children's
temperaments are vital if her students are to thrive and develop.

Susan Culpepper, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of child and family studies at the University of
Montevallo in Alabama.Jerry Aldridge, Ed.D.,is a professor of early childhood education, University of
Alabama at Birmingham.Joyce Sibley, Ph.D.,is an adjunct assistant professor of Human Studies at
the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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Recognizing and Accommodating Children's Personalities