This book will help parents understand and work more effectively with their young child's temperament. Effective parenting isn't one-size-fits-all. Every child comes with an innate temperament, which includes a unique set of emotional reactions and personal strengths, a motivational style, and needs that demand attention. And every family has its own values and culture. While we cannot change our child's natural temperament (nor would we want to!), we can impact their self-regulation systems, nurture their positive behaviors, and promote healthy social and emotional development. In this book, psychologists Liliana Lengua and Maria Gartstein offer readers science-based recommendations for parenting based on the individual temperament of your child and the specific needs of your family. To help readers understand the innate nature of temperaments, the book begins with a brief, accessible overview of the neurobiological systems that underlie temperament. Combining this scientific understanding of temperaments with the latest psychological theories and research, as well as the authors' own experience as clinicians and mothers, the authors present four broad parenting principles and then show how to apply these principles with young children of different temperaments. In particular, they focus on a handful of temperament characteristics that, when very strong, can present challenges related to children's social, emotional, and behavioral development and well-being. These include being fearful, impulsive, inflexible, and easily frustrated. With its simple practical advice, relatable examples, and questionnaires to help you assess your child's temperament and your own parenting practices, this book gives you the tools you need to parent more effectively and strengthen your relationship with your child.
Liliana J. Lengua, PhD, is Maritz Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, director of the Center for Child and Family Well-Being, a child clinical psychologist, and mother of three children. She is internationally recognized for her research on children's vulnerable and resilient responses to stress, and how parenting and children's temperament contribute to children's unique responses to stress. She also researches the effects of economic disadvantage and adversity on parenting and children's development. She has been the principal investigator of several federally funded research projects and is the author of over 150 published papers. Visit ccfwb.uw.edu. Maria (Masha) Gartstein, PhD, is professor of psychology and director of the clinical psychology doctoral program at Washington State University. Dr. Gartstein has published over 100 research articles focused chiefly on temperament, namely how different profiles/types change over time, and how they confer risk or protection with respect to emerging symptoms and disorders. Two major themes throughout this work are the role parenting plays in how temperament develops and the contribution of temperament to later adjustment. She has served as principal investigator for several federally funded research projects. Visit labs.wsu.edu/infant-temperament/ and follow @mashagartstein for more information.
Introduction: Tailoring Your Parenting to Your Children's Temperament Part I. Understanding Temperament and Parenting Chapter 1. What Is Temperament? Chapter 2. Temperament Characteristics and Behaviors Chapter 3. Brain and Body Systems Underlying Temperament Chapter 4. Core Parenting Principles Part II. Parenting With Your Children's Temperament in Mind Chapter 5. The Fearful or Fearless Child Chapter 6. The Easily Frustrated Child Chapter 7. The Impulsive Child Chapter 8. The Inflexible Child Part III. The Core Parenting Principles Chapter 9. Be Present Chapter 10. Be Warm Chapter 11. Be Balanced Chapter 12. Be Consistent Chapter 13. Being Consistent with Common Challenges Afterword: Building Social and Emotional Competence, Joy, and Well-Being References Appendix A: Child Temperament Assessment Appendix B: Parenting Self-Reflection
