Importance of social interaction/temperment

What is matching and synchrony?

Coordinated emotional and behavioral exchanges between caregiver and infant.

Why soothe infants and children?

Builds trust, emotional regulation, and secure attachment.

What is temperament?

intimate style of responding to the environment

Aspects of temperament?

1. activity level 

2. regularity

3. approach/withdrawal

4. adaptability to change in routines

5. sensory threshold

6. intensity of reaction

7. quality of mood 

8. persistence attention span/focus

9. distractibility 

Easy babies?

Adaptable, positive mood

(40%)

-approach new people, events, food, toys positively

-regular eating and sleeping patterns

-generally cheerful and happy

Slow-to-warm:

Cautious, needs time to adjust.

15%

-withdraw from new events, people, toys, etc

-uneasy with novelty

-somewhat fussy 

Difficult babies

Intense reactions, less adaptable.

-10%

-react negatively and vigorously when things do not go their way 

-generally irritable 

-irregular in eating and sleeping patterns 

What is goodness-of-fit?

Compatibility between child’s temperament and parenting style/environment.

-**this is parents responsibility**