As your cousin describes the behavior of her three-year-old, you realize that she has a child with a difficult temperament, sometimes called a Difficult Child

Based on what you have learned from Thomas and Chess'
research, what advice would you give her about dealing with her Difficult Child?

What will be an ideal response?

A Difficult Child is one who is easily frustrated, slow to adapt to change, and likely to withdraw from new
situations. A Difficult Child is often negative and shows irregular patterns of eating and sleeping. Important advice
to give this cousin relates to Thomas and Chess's concept of "goodness of fit," which is defined as the degree to
which a child's temperament and his or her environment are compatible or complementary. The cousin could help
her child by being patient, supportive, warm, and nurturing. Her child will feel most confident when given time to
adapt to new situations at his or her own pace rather than being pushed or rushed into them. As her child ages, she
can help him or her identify and deal with feelings of anger, negativity, and frustration and the situations in which
these feelings are most likely to arise. Providing structure to daily routines and using an authoritative parenting
style will also be helpful when working with a Difficult Child.