Wow, did I need this book! I had the one for spouses but generally my hubby and I can muddle through well enough. But me and my kids? Well, let’s just say I’m a choleric. That should say it ALL if you are familiar with the four temperaments. If you’re not, let me quote Art & Lorraine Bennett, authors of The Temperament God Gave Your Kids.
Choleric parents…have difficulty related to small children, especially when these children are quiet, passive or SLOW MOVING. (emphasis mine)
They further go on to say that these people are not the type of people who babysat as kids (ya think?) and that if they are a touch melancholic (I am) that they might be taken to “…severity or harshness or judgmental aloofness.” Ouch. So now that I’m well aware of my parenting faults (which don’t feel quite so terrible now that I know it’s how I was made), I can figure out how to overcome them.
The Temperament God Gave Your Kids is a fabulous resource for parenting. Similar to their other books, The Temperament God Gave You and The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse, they go through the four temperaments (choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic) and how they might manifest themselves in the behavior of children. The next several chapters are devoted to characteristics, the learning style and items of importance to each temperament. After that, they analyze what your temperament says about how YOU parent and then how you need to interact with your children. Finally, the Bennetts go into how to teach virtues to each temperament and maybe more importantly, which virtues they need to work on and which they have in abundance.
I have to say that I loved this The Temperament God Gave Your Kids! I’ve long thought that parenting needed to be done equally but not the same. Until I got this book, however, I didn’t know what that would actually look like. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels like they need help with their parenting or anyone who would just like to do a little better. This book was an answer to my prayer and if you’ve been praying to be a better mom, it might be the answer to yours, too. Go check it out today!
Jen can be found writing at Happy Little Homemaker.
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I just finished this book last week! I thought it was great too, but had trouble pinning down my main temperament. I’m somehow a mix of melancholic, phlegmatic, and a touch of choleric… I think I want to read The Temperament God Gave You so I can explore this a little more… My two daughters are so young that it’s hard to say for sure which temperaments they possess, but looking forward to discovering them!
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My son is just about to turn 3- is he to young for me to determine his temperament?
It depends, I guess. My youngest daughter isn’t yet 2, but I pinpointed her in an instant. She is EXTREMELY sanguine! If he’s more moderate, it may be harder to tell. My four year old would have been harder to tell until more recently, too.
You could always read it and have an idea of what they are and revisit every so often until you are sure.
Hope this helps!
~Jen
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