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Home › Articles › Guiding Baby's Development › Baby's Temperament

Baby's Temperament

Personality Styles in Infants

By Laura Cone

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Denise Mestanza Taylor has a theory that some children show their temperament even while in utero. Her 1-year-old baby, Emmalynn, was a go-getter who could not wait to embrace life.

Taylor, who lives in Land O' Lakes, Fla., endured only two hours of labor, had to make a detour to a closer hospital and pushed twice. Voila! Emmalynn, who is always quick to laugh and smile, was born and ready to make her mark on the world.

"Emmalynn goes into things running," Taylor says. "She came out quick and now she goes into everything quick. This child has not stopped running since birth. I think their temperaments develop in utero."

In contrast, Taylor says her older daughter, Allana, 4, is a deep thinker who is more methodical.

Defining the Basic Temperaments
When it comes to baby temperaments, most experts divide babies into three categories: easygoing, slow to warm up and difficult. Some experts, using an outdated system, might also describe Emmalynn as being "sanguine" while Allana is more "melancholic."

"My older one is slow to warm up," Taylor says. "When she meets people she looks at them, figures them out, whereas Emmalynn likes strangers and instantly everyone is her friend. Allana is more wary of strangers. When she was a baby, she was not a giggler. She was not smiley."

When people would make silly faces at Allana, she would look at them as if they were nuts, Taylor says. But Emmalynn will laugh hysterically when people make faces.

Even though she is generally happy, Emmalynn also has temper tantrums during which she throws herself on the ground and bangs her head. According to ancient classifications, Emmalynn has "choleric," or what is now called "difficult" tendencies, as opposed to "phlegmatic," or easygoing. But experts say it's easy to get confused about your baby's or toddler's temperament because they are often going through a stage.


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