Several traits which will remain constant over a life time can be identified at birth, according to researchers Thomas, Chess, Birch, Hertzig, and Korn. "Initial Traits of Reactivity" is the way a child responds to the environment.

Easy Child -- (40%),Slow to Warm Up -- (15%), or Difficult -- (10%)? Identifiable clusters of traits describe the way a child interacts with the environment. The child has a certain predisposition to that behavior, -- temperament.

Knowing how to handle each behavior that results from having a difficult temperment can change the pattern of ill-feelings and helplessness that both parent and child experience.

Sometimes, parents intuitively know that their child has a real problem, even when no one else seems to think so. Being with a child day in and day out gives parents a perspective that no one else can share. If you think something is wrong, find out.

One of the initial traits of reactivity is described as "mood." Babies come into this world with an identifiable mood as part of their personality. This normal continuum can be described as positive at one end to negative at the other end. Coping with a negative child is difficult.

A great deal can be discovered about the personality by watching kids in new situations. One way of looking at personality differences is to observe the child's response to the unfamiliar. This response can fall anywhere along a continuum with extreme approach behaviors at one end and extreme avoidance behaviors at the other end. While most children are somewhere in between, the extremes do exist.

Based on 50 Tips on the Classroom Management of Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward M. Hallowell, MD and John J. Ratey,MD. These tips are directly from Hallowell and Ratey with only slight modifications in wording as they apply to the home situation.