Life At

What is Temperament? Temperament is the foundation stone of who we are, and determines how we respond to the world. It’s the biologically based, intrinsic characteristics we are born with – it’s how we are ‘wired’. Right from the start, it affects the preferences we have, the way in which we interact with the world, and the way the world interacts with us. Types of Temperament There is no such thing as a good or a bad temperament: it takes all types of temperaments to make the world go round. Goodness of Fit The ‘goodness of fit’ between a child’s temperament style and their environment is crucial. Role of Culture Different cultures value different sorts of temperamental characteristics.

Skills for developing good peer relationships To form good peer relationships, children need social skills - which is having the capacity to manage their behaviour in social situations, knowing how to conduct themselves and knowing how to behave appropriately. Peers At the age of seven, peers have become an increasingly important part of a child’s social world. Now that their world is expanding outside the home, they are spending a third of their lives with their peers, and they begin to define themselves in relation to other children of the same age. Gender Gender is not just about biology, it’s also about expectations and opportunities and how they play out across the life course for boys and girls, men and women. Social roles Human beings are social animals. We live, work and play in social groups, so it's really important that we learn how to get along with other people - but it doesn't mean we all need to be the same. Social groups only work because we all play different roles in them – there are the leaders and the followers, the team players and those who work better on their own, those who are creative and those who are by the book. Siblings and only children Siblings are an important part of a child’s social world, and give them lots of opportunity for practising social relationships. For only children, friends and peer groups are particularly important because they don't have their siblings to fall back on.