Understanding Your Baby’s Personality

  • Mood: the mood, positive or negative, or degree of pleasantness or unfriendliness in a baby and her reactions.

  • Distraction: the ease with which a child can be distracted from a task by environmental (usually visual or auditory) stimuli. Babies are naturally curious and will move onto another task before finishing the first. This factor is more obvious when school begins for a child.
    • Sensory threshold: the amount of stimulation required for a child to respond. Some children respond to the slightest stimulation while others require intense amounts. Does your baby become irritable when the lights are on or the television is blaring?

    Remember, your baby’s need for stimuli or his or her ability to adapt can be significantly different than yours or other members of your household. Recognizing these differences and understanding them is important to creating a healthy environment for all.

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