Hosea at 18 months sits in a booster seat at a table with other toddlers. Eleanor sits next to him at the table, eating her own meal. Holding his spoon in one hand, Hosea busily shoves food into his mouth with the other. Eleanor gives the children foods they can easily pick up. She encourages Hosea to use his spoon. Eleanor talks to Hosea about what he is eating: “Those strawberries are so good! You are really hungry.” As his hunger subsides, Hosea uses his spoon to get the last few bites of fruit. Eleanor comments, “You used your spoon to get that last strawberry. Good for you!”
Even though Hosea can use a spoon, when he is really hungry, he goes back to using his hands. Eleanor is patient as Hosea acquires self-feeding skills. The teacher provides social interaction and emotional engagement as she sits with Hosea and talks about what he is eating. In the pres- ence of his teacher’s calm, supportive interactions, Hosea
eventually uses his spoon, and Eleanor comments positively on this. Through consistent feeding
routines, Hosea learns that people respond to him in positive, nurturing ways and that the world is a safe place. Caring, consistent rela- tionships with adults provide external sup-
ports that serve as the basis for developing self- regulation.
One of a child’s most important developmental tasks is moving from external regulation to self-regulation (Shonkoff & Phillips 2000; Perry 2005). Hosea’s growing capacity for self-regulation integrates his cognitive, physi- cal, and social-emotional abilities. The three vignettes show the beginnings of this process and how supportive, responsive adults facilitate it.
Temperament and goodness of fit
Imagine that when Naomi responded to Hosea’s hungry cries in the first vignette, he arched his back and screamed. Or instead of latching on to the breast to nurse, he was distracted by the slightest sound or movement. Suppose this fussiness or distractibility continued, and Naomi became stressed trying to figure out how to meet Hosea’s needs. Hosea’s view of the world would be differ- ent if Naomi could not read his cues and meet his needs.
Caring, consistent relationships with adults provide external supports that serve as the basis for developing self-regulation.
Temperament Traits
The following list defines eight temperament traits;
each trait exists along a continuum from high to low.
Activity level—amount of physical movement
Biological rhythms—regularity in eating, sleeping, and elimination
Approach/withdrawal—comfort in new situation
Mood—whether a child is mostly positive or negative
Intensity of reaction—how much a child reacts to situations or stimuli
Adaptability—ability to manage changes in routine or recover from being upset
Distractibility—how easily a child’s attention is distracted
Persistence—how long a child will stay with a difficult activity before giving up
Adapted, by permission, from A. Thomas and S. Chess, Tem- perament and Development (New York: Brunner/Mazel,
1977).
His capacity for self-regulation would be unlikely to de- velop as smoothly as the vignettes describe.
A baby’s temperament can have an impact on a care- giver’s ability to meet the baby’s needs. Temperament refers to a person’s characteristics or traits that are biologically based and consistent over time. Temperament influences how we respond to people and our surroundings
(Thomas & Chess 1977). While Thomas and Chess’s research shows that temperament char- acteristics tend to remain consistent over time, how they are expressed changes as a child ma- tures. For example, a highly active child can be- come an extremely energetic adult who is able to
accomplish many tasks in the course of a day. Temperament traits like mood, irritability, and adaptability can affect a baby’s capacity for emotional regulation (Thompson 2001).
Temperament traits can be thought of as existing along
a continuum from high to low. Such traits are not “good” or “bad,” but when they fall at the high or low end of the continuum, a child may have some difficulty with self- regulation. For example, with the activity level trait (see “Temperament Traits”), children’s activity level may fall at the high end or the low end of the continuum, the child being either very active or not very active. Very active children may need adults who offer them opportunities to safely use their energy as well as calming strategies to
help them quiet down and get ready for story or nap time. Children on the low end of the activity scale may need
opportunities for quiet play and extra support to enter into active play with other children.