Many years ago, researcher Thomas Chess studied infants and found nine 
aspects of temperament that seemed to start in infancy and persist 
throughout childhood. Each baby seems to fit somewhere along a continuum for 
each of these traits: Activity (how active the baby is), Regularity (does 
the baby eat, sleep, etc. at the same times each day or is he very 
unpredictable), Initial Reaction (how does he react in new situations or 
with new people - calmly or with fear), Adaptability (how does he manage 
changes in his life), Intensity (when upset, does he whimper or does he 
SCREAM), Mood (is he mostly happy and cheerful, or mostly somber), 
Distractibility (when he's focused on something - say, poking his finger 
into an outlet) can you easily distract him with a rattle or toy?), 
Persistence (when he wants to master a new skill will he try over and over 
or try once and quit if it doesn't work), Sensitivity (do noises, "scratchy" 
fabrics, etc. bother him? how about emotional sensitivity - does any 
separation from mom upset him?)

The children who are most challenging for parents in Western societies are 
those who are low on regularity, high on sensitivity, and high on intensity. 
Add in high activity and it's even worse!

I try to remind parents that these personality traits persist, and all the 
things that can make parenting a baby tough make wonderful adults! My 
active, intense, sensitive daughter now amazes me by her passion for the 
things she cares about, her ability to get far more done in a day than i 
ever can, and her acute sensitivity to the feelings and needs of others.

Teresa Pitman 

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