Denver Association of Family Child Care

Parent Resources

Understanding Your Child

Each child is unique in her own learning needs and style which affects your family's needs for child care and other resources. Understanding what your child needs to help her grow and learn is very important in helping you to make good decisions about her child care and how you parent her.

Part of understanding your child is understanding her natural temperament. Temperament is something every baby is born with, which forms a key component of his personality, and is as individual as her fingerprints. Some child care environments work better for children with certain temperaments. For example, if your child seems to react negatively to a lot of stimulation, a large child care center with many children may not be the place for her. Some children tend to be "easy" in general, and adapt well to different experiences. Others are more "difficult" and have a harder time adapting. When choosing child care, take into consideration your child's natural temperament. There are many different elements that all play a part in your child's temperament.

Some of things to consider about your child's temperament include:

1. Does your child require a lot of physical activity during the day?
2. Is she restless?
3. Is she always fidgeting or in constant motion?

1. Can your child sit and focus on an age-appropriate activity?
2. Do you find that she is so focused that she cannot break away?

1. Does your child react strongly to the least amount of stimulation?
2. Is your child able to focus on a task in a stimulating environment?

1. Is your child put off by new situations or transitions during the day?
2. Does she enjoy meeting new people?

1. Does your child usually have a more positive or negative outlook?
2. Does she show intense happiness or sadness?

1. Does your child have regular nap and bedtime routines?
2. Does she eat at regularly scheduled times during the day, or does she get hungry at unpredictable times?

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Copyright © 2001 Denver Association of Family Child Care
Last modified: February 01, 2002