A characteristic of Temperament:
Mood
Negative mood most of the time
Positive mood most of the time
What does this mean?
Mood is a child’s typical emotional state and how easy they are to please.
What does this look like?
Some children have an overall positive mood and outlook. They are generally easy to please.
Other children have an overall more negative mood and outlook. They may be more easily irritated or annoyed, and they are generally harder to please.
How can I help?
Children with a more negative mood do well when caregivers adjust the environment to include their likes and preferences into difficult interactions. For example, if your child likes dump trucks, you can turn clean up into a game of filling up a dump truck.
They also need to hear that it is ok not to be happy all the time and space to manage their emotions. These are important self regulation skills.
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Quick Tip
- Children with a negative mood most of the time may need more support than children who are more positive.
