Temperament; adapting your parenting style based on more or less reactive temperaments
By adapting your parenting style to suit your child’s own temperament, you can better nurture their development and help them develop the positive parts of their temperament. This will in turn help you to understand the situations that your child might find hard because of their temperament, and help them learn how to handle these situations.
Each child’s temperament can be considered in terms of how much or how little they show of the following qualities; reactivity, self-regulation and sociability.
If your child is more reactive, they will likely be quite enthusiastic when good things happen, but on the other hand they may be quite loud and dramatic, throwing tantrums when something bad happens. Children that are more reactive also tend to be more physically active, spending time outdoors. You can help nurture a more reactive child by helping them relax and calm down, through using words to express their feelings, encouraging them to take up sports and outdoor activities, and helping them to wind down afterwards.
If your child is less reactive they might be easy to get along with but not as assertive, and they may also be less physically active. They will likely be quieter around the dinner table, too, and may need prompting to talk about their day. You can help nurture a less reactive child by identifying opportunities where they can be more assertive and helping them learn how to do so, and encouraging physical activity in a form they would be happy with, eg; going for a walk with the dog or dancing along to their favourite songs.
The Wishing Well foundation
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families. The Wishing Well recognises the importance of the act of giving. We recognise the significance of the participation of community members and all donations are most appreciated.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment.
Support the Wishing Well
The Wishing Well uses its funds to help children in need access all manners of developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments. The Wishing Well takes referrals for any child/young person in out-of-home care in NSW. Applications are assessed by qualified personnel and on a case-by-case basis. The decision to fund an application is affected by the following:
- Funding availability
- The support the child/young person has to access the proposed therapies
- The capacity and willingness of the Carer Household to support the child/young person
- Assessment, which recommends and supports the proposed therapy as relevant to meeting the particular needs of the child/young person
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Money donated to The Wishing Well enables traumatised children access to healing therapies. Please see our website for more information:
Temperament; adapting your parenting style to suit your child’s temperament, a short guide
You can adjust your parenting style to suit your child’s temperament, as each child has their own unique way of responding to the world. By adapting your parenting style to your child’s individual temperament, you can properly nurture their development. You will be able to help your child develop the positive parts of their temperament and give them a sense of control over the negative aspects. You will be able to better understand the situations that your child might find hard to cope with, because of their temperament, and help them learn how to handle these situations.
Keep in mind that your child’s temperament may be different from your own, and you may find it harder to understand and care for a child with a different temperament to your own. With deeper understanding of each type of temperament, this will get easier.
Through adapting your parenting techniques, you can find ways to care for; more or less reactive temperaments, more or less self-regulated temperaments, and more or less sociable temperaments. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we discuss these in more detail.
The Wishing Well foundation
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families. The Wishing Well recognises the importance of the act of giving. We recognise the significance of the participation of community members and all donations are most appreciated.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment.
Support the Wishing Well
The Wishing Well uses its funds to help children in need access all manners of developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments. The Wishing Well takes referrals for any child/young person in out-of-home care in NSW. Applications are assessed by qualified personnel and on a case-by-case basis. The decision to fund an application is affected by the following:
- Funding availability
- The support the child/young person has to access the proposed therapies
- The capacity and willingness of the Carer Household to support the child/young person
- Assessment, which recommends and supports the proposed therapy as relevant to meeting the particular needs of the child/young person
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Money donated to The Wishing Well enables traumatised children access to healing therapies. Please see our website for more information:
Understanding children’s temperament; a short guide
A person’s temperament refers to personality traits that determine how they respond to the world, how they behave and interact with others. Temperament tends to refer to individual differences in behaviour that are biologically based. It is formed in infancy and develops over time through growth and maturity. Studies have also shown that temperament does not change but remains constant.
Understanding your child’s unique temperament will help you as a parent or carer to choose a parenting strategy that will nurture their development throughout the years.
You can measure your child’s temperament by considering how children respond to three particular qualities, in how much or how little they show of these qualities;
- Reactivity: this demonstrates how strongly children react to things, for example exciting events or not getting their own way. Reactive children tend to feel things very strongly.
- Self-regulation: this shows how much children can control their behaviour, including the way they show their feelings. It’s also about how much children can control their attention and how persistent they are in tasks and activities.
- Sociability: this is about how comfortable children are when they meet new people or have new experiences.
The Wishing Well foundation
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families. The Wishing Well recognises the importance of the act of giving. We recognise the significance of the participation of community members and all donations are most appreciated.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment.
Support the Wishing Well
The Wishing Well uses its funds to help children in need access all manners of developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments. The Wishing Well takes referrals for any child/young person in out-of-home care in NSW. Applications are assessed by qualified personnel and on a case-by-case basis. The decision to fund an application is affected by the following:
- Funding availability
- The support the child/young person has to access the proposed therapies
- The capacity and willingness of the Carer Household to support the child/young person
- Assessment, which recommends and supports the proposed therapy as relevant to meeting the particular needs of the child/young person
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Money donated to The Wishing Well enables traumatised children access to healing therapies. Please see our website for more information:
Relationships; tips for building strong family relationships
There are so many reasons why a strong family relationship is not just beneficial to parents, but also to children and teenagers. Good family relationships make children feel secure and loved, which in turn helps their brains to develop. Strong family relationships can also help to overcome difficulties with children’s eating, sleeping, learning and behaviours, and will make it easier for families to solve problems and resolve conflict. It can help you and your children respect differences of opinion as your children develop more independence, and gives children the skills they need to build healthy relationships of their own.
Some ways that you can improve family relationships include;
1] Spending quality time together. This can include routine family dinners where you all get to chat about your day and catch up on any news, or going on holidays and car trips together. One-on-one time with each child is important for building strong relationships with your children, as is spending quality time with your partner if you have one.
2] Positive communication methods. Positive communication is key to creating and building strong family relationships. Make time to listen to each other, listen without judgement, and be open with expressing your own thoughts and feelings. Show appreciation, love and encouragement through positive words and affection, and encourage each other with praise.
The Wishing Well foundation
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families. The Wishing Well recognises the importance of the act of giving. We recognise the significance of the participation of community members and all donations are most appreciated.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment.
Support the Wishing Well
The Wishing Well uses its funds to help children in need access all manners of developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments. The Wishing Well takes referrals for any child/young person in out-of-home care in NSW. Applications are assessed by qualified personnel and on a case-by-case basis. The decision to fund an application is affected by the following:
- Funding availability
- The support the child/young person has to access the proposed therapies
- The capacity and willingness of the Carer Household to support the child/young person
- Assessment, which recommends and supports the proposed therapy as relevant to meeting the particular needs of the child/young person
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Money donated to The Wishing Well enables traumatised children access to healing therapies. Please see our website for more information:
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