Lia Dopp

Classification Paper

October 30, 2017

Types of Children

Growing up, I always thought of myself as an easy and outgoing child in most

situations. Every day I would display good behavior and demonstrate new skills that I

learned. But now that I look back at my childhood, I found that I seemed to be rather

shy around others and showed signs of attachment to my parents. Realizing that there

seem to be patterns among young children throughout schools, sports, and other

activities, I researched into this topic and found that scientists Thomas and Chess

studied types of children in 1977. In their study, they concluded that there are three

types of children: easy, difficult, and slow to warm up.

The easy child

This child proved to have regular habits of eating, sleeping and using the restroom.

They had a positive outlook on new situation and were when faced with frustration, they

were able to shake it off quickly. They adapted quickly, smiled often, and were in a good

mood the majority of the time. This child faces irritation when placed in unfamiliar

situations.

The difficult child

This child proved to have irregular eating, sleeping and bathroom cycles. They

approach frustration with temperatures and approach a new situation with a negative
outlook. They do not adapt quickly to new situation and will turn to aggressive behavior

if forced to do something. They face problems with socialization and expectations from

their family, teachers and close friends.

The slow-to-warm-up child

This child proved ton originally display a negative outlook when it came to new

situations but after repeated exposure the child warmed up to the situation. If they were

encouraged to immediately involve themselves in a situation they would show signs of

negativity such as placing himself in the corner of the room, refusing to move or clinging

to their parent. This child has regular eating, sleeping, and bathroom cycles. This child

may have faced difficulty if they proved to be high acidity when put in insufficient space,

strict schedules, and a lack of physical activity. If this child was persitiant they showed

diffusely when interrupted. The distracted child faced difficulty when having to focus for

long periods of time.

Having extensively researched the studies of Thomas and Chess, I have found that the

three distinct types of children described in the study accurately represent the various

attitudes and behaviors of young children. Additionally, it has proved to me the type of

child that I grew up being and has also given me reasoning as to why I fit in that

category. Overall, the categorization of the children as described by the study provides

an accurate representation of children which can help to explain why children act in

certain ways at a young age.