In these times of sanitary confinement, parents now also have to do homework with their children. They are going crazy! They don't know what to do at homework time. It's stressful because they don't manage to have that time in peace and harmony, on the contrary, it has become a battlefield!
Each child is unique and must be raised individually. Learning is also at its own unique pace. It is neither advisable nor healthy to make comparisons between siblings as to who learns faster and better. The study method that was very useful and profitable for one child does not necessarily have to be the same for the other. It is of utmost importance that parents identify the temperament that characterizes each of their children when it comes to helping them with their homework.
Since ancient times, specialists in psychology have defined four basic temperaments: Choleric, Melancholic, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic. The main temperament of children directly influences their way of learning, since they can have a good cognitive development, but the way of being of each one of them commits them to have behaviors that are not adapted to social and academic requirements.
There is not a temperament that totally represents the person, there are several combinations that can identify you. Human beings are complex beings, so an exact classification that defines our personality is difficult. However, it can be useful as a guide to accept and understand the way of being, the most dominant characteristics of the little ones of the house.
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These four basic temperaments are described below, along with some tips for parents:
1. A child whose main temperament is of choleric tendency is characterized by being independent and of strong character. They are children who are leaders, visionaries, and productive. An advantage is that they are tremendously persistent. Under parental supervision, the mainly choleric child needs to be defined tasks of responsibility and leadership at home, as they have a very active mind. If there are several children at home with this same tendency, most likely there will be problems because they all want to be the leaders and to command. they will have many fights and arguments at home. If it is not well channeled by their parents they can have problems for being dominant, sometimes manipulative and spiteful. An effective way for a mostly Choleric child to study would be the support from their parents in the elaboration of concept maps and action plans.
2. If you have a mostly Melancholic child you have a bright-minded, creative, artistic, sensitive, analytical, persistent, disciplined, introverted, and dreamy child. If parents support them with artistic activities such as dance, painting, music, they will be developing their sensitivity in a healthy and balanced way. They have great talents but suffer from an inferiority complex. Parents should be very careful with this problem. It is very difficult for them to accept criticism, since it makes them feel worse. Parent, be careful because children with a mainly melancholic tendency are easily offended, reacting to what people think of them to the point of thinking that they do not love them. His great weakness is that he tends to be a negative, critical, vindictive, and insecure child.
Parents can support their child whose main temperament is melancholic by working on summaries of the subjects assigned for study since they can elaborate their own reflections and synthesize the subjects with a lot of text. Another way to support studies is to establish relationships on the contents, analysis, and relationship with personal experience, this helps to reflect and meditate so they not only understand but also understand the subject they are studying. Another strategy is concept mapping, which allows them to relate and analyze, and they are also very creative.
3. If your child talks a lot, makes friends easily, always has a smile, charismatic, ability to communicate, and good social relations, then your child has a mostly Sanguine temperament. They are attentive, enthusiastic, and expressive. They are very curious, extroverted children, to the point that they seem like an open book. It is easy for them to imitate others and they like to please other children who are close to them. They need love and affection. They do not like to be alone, they always want to be surrounded by people. This is a big disadvantage if he is an only child. It is important that they have friends in their age range with whom to share time and study. They can easily adapt to difficult situations.
They have a weakness in that they are undisciplined, unstable, and unproductive. They do not stay focused on one thing at a time for long. For this reason, they do not tend to be good students, they have the ability but not the discipline to do it.
As parents you should give them very specific activities at home, such as organizing and ordering their school supplies, adults should supervise that they complete their homework commitment. The most effective way for a parent to support homework is to ask questions and discuss the subject being studied. Making questionnaires with questions about the subject to study is a good strategy.
4. If your child is very calm, docile to handle, entertains himself easily, and is quiet, you have a child with a mainly Phlegmatic temperament. He is intelligent, quiet, reserved, reliable, diplomatic, and objective. However, he is not in a hurry to do activities, he is more of a spectator. He is introverted, it is difficult to detect the child's weaknesses.
One of the most dangerous is lack of motivation. They are usually indecisive, anxious, fearful, and often selfish. Because they are calm and quiet, it is difficult to identify their mood, whether they are angry, sad, or happy, it is difficult to know because they never lose their posture, it is a mysterious temperament.
Parents have to help them discover a passion in some activity to keep them motivated. They must teach them to be more open and enthusiastic. The best way for a parent to support them in their studies is through organized and planned activities. Children with a mostly phlegmatic temperament do not improvise at all. All assignments should be in prompt notes and easy to do. They do not complicate their lives.
Final tips:
Parents, it is important to remember that you will not find perfect home study support strategies, it is very complicated, we cannot generalize. But it is good to look for and apply homework strategies that are more in line with your child's temperament. Your child's temperament is not unique, it has combinations, which can be educated. Remember, human beings are complex, it is difficult to make an exact classification that defines our way of being. However, it will be more effective and interesting to know some of the temperaments with a greater tendency that you describe to your child, so that in the time of studying you can act patiently, with better perspective, hoping to be able to coexist at home, happily, in peace and harmony.
Omg, ma'am I think I belong to phlegmatic one 🥺