Nursery World - Just be yourself

Each child has their own temperament but they deserve support when they act out of character, says Jennie Lindon There is good reason to believe that babies are born with personal dispositions that shape how they respond to their experiences. Some babies are more relaxed from the earliest weeks, giving you enchanting smiles on a regular basis. For others, life appears to be a more serious business. A baby of a similar age, even the next baby in this same family, may produce a frown as often as a smile.

There is good reason to believe that babies are born with personal dispositions that shape how they respond to their experiences. Some babies are more relaxed from the earliest weeks, giving you enchanting smiles on a regular basis. For others, life appears to be a more serious business. A baby of a similar age, even the next baby in this same family, may produce a frown as often as a smile.

Individual differences in childhood tend to be called temperament, to distinguish the idea from personality, a word that is more often used for individual differences in adulthood. The actual words matter less than our understanding of each child and how we can be supportive adults who do not label children for their inclinations.

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