Clues to Personality II

Another indicator of temperament is the way a baby typically reacts to
new experiences. Does your child make his preferences immediately
known, taking the first spoonful of cereal, considering its taste,
then straining for the next bite? If he spits out the first mouthful,
will he try the new food again later on and eventually decide that he
likes it? With some children, patience and persistence are needed when
it comes to introducing unfamiliar people, places and things.

How much stimulation does your infant tolerate? Some children love
being in a roomful of people, or watching the passing scene while out
for a stroller ride. Others prefer to survey the sky or their own
hands, and are unsettled by too much clamor. Parents will need to seek
out quiet, un pressured activities for a child who is easily over
stimulated.

Finally what is your child’s general mood and level of activity when
she is alert and comfortable? Does she playfully kick, examine the
mobile over her crib and listen intently to music playing in the next
room? Or does she actively kick and squirm, propelling herself around
the crib and then fussing when she gets stuck in a corner? You will
surely have to interrupt what you are dong more frequently to keep a
very active child composed and entertained. More often than not, the
answers to the above questions will show some kind of consistent
pattern of behavior; this pattern is what is meant by the term
“personality;. Most experts agree that babies fall roughly into one of
three or four basic temperamental types; one expert’s gallery of
infant personality styles is going to describe in later pates