Temperament Tools

Effective parents are those who are flexible, who understand what makes their child “tick,” and who learn from mistakes while they avoid repeating them. Research with thousands of infants and young children shows that there are specific clusters of problem behavior associated with specific inborn traits, or temperament types.

Temperament Tools identifies individual temperament types and the challenging behavior clusters associated with them, while offering strategies to help parents—

• Understand the role temperament plays in behavior
• Understand their child’s inborn temperament
• Learn to appreciate and work with their child’s traits
• Learn to prevent behavior problems
• Avoid blame and guilt

When parents have tools to deal with problems they are better able to enjoy the many positive qualities of their child’s temperament. Different temperaments call for different handling and different environments. When the parenting style and the environment fit the child, he or she can grow and thrive.

Charming illustrations and evocative child names enhance the verbal descriptions.