For each of the following questions, pick the best answer. In other words, chose the statement that describes your child most of the time.
1. My Baby
A. rarely cries
B. cries only when she’s hungry, tired or over-stimulated
C. cries for no apparent reason
D. cries very loudly, and if I don’t attend to it, she quickly gets into a rage cry
E. cries a lot of the time
2. When it’s time for him to go to sleep, my baby
A. lies peacefully in his crib and drifts off to sleep
B. generally falls asleep easily within twenty minutes
C. fusses a bit and seems to be drifting off, but then keeps waking up
D. is very restless and often needs to be swaddled or held
E. cries a lot and seems to resent being put down
3. When she wakes up in the morning, my baby
A. rarely cries - she plays in her crib until I come in
B. coos and looks around
C. needs immediate attention or she starts crying
D. screams
E. whimpers
4. My baby smiles
A. at everything and everyone
B. when prompted
C. when prompted but sometimes starts to cry within minutes of smiling
D. a lot and is also very vocal, tending to make very loud baby noises
E. only under the right circumstances
5. When I take my baby on any kind of outing, he
A. is extremely portable
B. is okay as long as where I take him isn’t too busy or unfamiliar
C. fusses a great deal
D. is very demanding of my attention
E. doesn’t like to be handled a lot
6. When confronted by a friendly stranger cooing at her, my baby
A. immediately smiles
B. takes a moment and then usually smiles fairly quickly
C. is likely to cry at first, unless the stranger can win her over
D. gets very excited
E. hardly ever smiles
7. When there’s a loud noise, like a dog barking or a slamming door, my baby
A. is never rattled
B. notices but isn’t bothered
C. flinches visibly and often starts to cry
D. gets loud himself
E. starts to cry
8. When I first gave my baby a bath
A. she took to the water like a duck
B. she was a little surprised at the sensation but liked it almost immediately
C. she was very sensitive - she shook a little and seemed afraid
D. she was wild – flailing about and splashing
E. she hated it and cried
9. My baby’s body language is typically
A. relaxed and alert almost always
B. relaxed most of the time
C. tense and very reactive to external stimuli
D. jerky – his arms and legs are often flailing all over the place
E. rigid – arms and legs are often fairly stiff
10. My baby makes loud, aggressive noises
A. once in a while
B. only when she’s playing and is highly stimulated
C. hardly ever
D. often
E. when she’s angry
11. When I change my baby’s nappy, bathe him, or dress him
A. he always takes it in stride
B. he is okay if I do it slowly and let him know what I’m doing
C. is often cranky, as if he can’t stand being naked
D. wriggles a lot and tries to pull everything off the changing table
E. he hates it - dressing is always a battle
12. If I suddenly bring my baby into bright light, like sunlight or fluorescent light, she
A. takes it in stride
B. can sometimes act startled
C. blinks excessively or tries to turn her head away from the light
D. becomes overstimulated
E. acts annoyed
11. When I change my baby’s nappy, bathe him, or dress him
A. he always takes it in stride
B. he is okay if I do it slowly and let him know what I’m doing
C. is often cranky, as if he can’t stand being naked
D. wriggles a lot and tries to pull everything off the changing table
E. he hates it - dressing is always a battle
12. If I suddenly bring my baby into bright light, like sunlight or fluorescent light, she
A. takes it in stride
B. can sometimes act startled
C. blinks excessively or tries to turn her head away from the light
D. becomes overstimulated
E. acts annoyed