Temperament Examples

It is the first week of school for third-graders Timmy, Kevin, and Andrew. All three boys are bright and good learners, yet they are startlingly different in their personal styles or temperaments:

•Timmy is an outgoing, friendly child who gets along well with adults and other children. He loves new experiences, adapts well to classroom routines, and is rarely upset or angry; he can hardly wait to get started in his new classroom.

•Kevin is quiet and shy and needs time to feel comfortable when faced with new people, new places, and new experiences. The first days of school are uncomfortable, even scary for him. He is reluctant to start the new school year in a new classroom.

•Andrew is highly active, quick reacting, and intense. He has difficulty sitting still and paying attention in school and he often overreacts to his teachers and classmates. He remembers the stresses of the last school year and wishes he could just stay home.

Children with Disabilities

From a parent’s perspective, rank order the difficulty of parenting a child with the following disabilities (1 being the most difficult and 7 being the least difficult)

__ Intellectual Disability

__ Specific Learning Disability

__ Emotional Disturbance

__ Speech or Language Impairment

__ Hearing Impairment

__ Visual Impairment

__ (Other) Health Impairment

There are 13 categories of special education as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In order to qualify for special education, the IEP team must determine that a child has one of the following:

Autism / Orthopedic impairment
Deafness / Specific learning disability
Hearing impairment / Speech or language impairment
Visual impairment (including blindness) / Traumatic brain injury
Deaf-blindness / Multiple disabilities
Emotional disturbance / Other health impairment
Intellectual disability

Which parenting style? Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive or Uninvolved

Description / Outcome
•Many rules and demands; few explanations and little sensitivity to the child’s needs or perspectives.
•Few rules and demands; children are allowed much freedom by indulgent parents.
•Few rules and demands; parents are uninvolved and insensitive to their children’s needs.
•Reasonable demands, consistently enforced with sensitivity and acceptance of the child. / •Learn few boundaries and rules; difficulty with self-control and egocentric tendencies.
•Learn adherence to parental rules and strict discipline is valued over independent behavior; may become rebellious or submissive.
•Learn to negotiate and engage in discussions; socially competent, responsible and autonomous.
•Learn parents more interested in own lives and don’t invest much into parenting; impulsive behavior due to issues with self-regulation is likely.

Parenting Style Examples

A six year old forgets to feed his dog. Analyze each response below and tell which parenting style is being exhibited.

  • The parent says nothing and does nothing because he doesn’t notice. The parent is preoccupied with watching television and pursuing his own interests.
  • The parent says, “Get out there and feed that dog now!”
  • The parent says, “Your dog depends on you to take care of him. When you forget, he suffers. What can you do to help yourself remember?” The parent checks periodically to see if the child is remembering.
  • The parent feeds the dog himself.

Julie brings home a report card with C’s and D’s. Analyze each parenting response to determine the type of parenting style being exhibited.

  • “No TV, no playing with friends and no allowance until these grades are better. You know what I expect and I don’t like this. I won’t have it. That’s settled.”
  • The parent looks at the report card as says, “Julie this isn’t good.” There is no other follow-up.
  • Parent: “Julie, this isn’t like you. What happened?” Julie admits she isn’t doing her homework. Parent tells Julie of his plan to check her homework every night. She is not allowed to watch TV or talk on the phone until the homework is checked. Parent asks Julie if she thinks this will help her remember to do her homework.
  • Parent: “Let’s talk to the teacher.” The parent complains about the teacher although Julie is not doing her homework.

Attachment Examples

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•In the Strange Situation, baby Mitchell uses his mother as a secure base from which to explore. He cries when she leaves and crawls quickly to her for comfort when she returns. Mitchell would be classified as showing ______attachment.

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•In the Strange Situation, baby Malika does not cry when her mother leaves, reacts similarly to a stranger as she does to her mother, and shows no interest in her mother when she returns. Malika would be classified as showing ______attachment.

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•In the Strange Situation, baby Ethan remains close to his mother and fails to explore before separation. When his mother returns, Ethan hits and pushes his mother. Ethan would be classified as showing ______attachment.

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•In the Strange Situation, baby Grace exhibits a dazed facial expression while being held by her mother. When her mother returns, she cries out unexpectedly and then freezes in an odd position. Grace would be classified as showing ______attachment.