Understanding you and your child's temperaments can help with parenting. For example, melancholic children respond well to fairy tales describing hardships. The phlegmatic child likes comfort, to be kept warm, and delicious food. Sanguine children respond well to calm parenting but enjoy social situations. Choleric children like to be leaders and you may find letting them be in charge of tasks helps to give them direction. In Waldorf schools teachers work with temperaments to help children grow and develop.
Children of these temperaments are often drawn to these colors:
- Choleric: Red & Fire
- Sanguine: Yellow & Rainbow
- Phlegmatic: Green & Forest
- Melancholic: Blues & Ocean
According to Rudolf Steiner- the founder of Waldorf education - each phase of life has a temperament associated with it.
- Childhood: Sanguine
- Adolescence: Choleric
- Adulthood: Melancholic
- Old Age: Phlegmatic
A goal of adulthood is to bring all four temperaments into balance, to bring harmony into one's life.
Here's a list of animals associated with each temperament.
- Lion (Choleric/Dominance) Strengths— Visionary, practical, productive, strong-willed, independent, decisive, leader.
- Otter (Sanguine/Influence) Strengths— Outgoing, responsive, warm, friendly, talkative, enthusiastic, compassionate.
- Golden Retriever (Phlegmatic/Steadiness).
- Beaver (Melancholy/Compliance)
You can look at the characters in Winnie the Pooh to find the four temperaments - Eeyore is the melancholic; Rabbit choleric; Pooh phlegmatic; and Christopher Robin himself is the sanguine.
Take a quiz to determine your temperament. (A very fun activity to do with children - our family had so much fun discovering our temperaments!)
Let me know what temperament you and your children are in a comment below.
For further reading on this subject I recommend looking at Dr. Gilbert Child's work entitled Understand Your Temperament! A guide to the four temperaments: Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic and Melancholic.
Fun test. I am melancholic. My children are all grown and now the grandbabies are coming. What a joy to see their unique personalities! Love them,every one.
Carrie Niemi on
I am phlegmatic, my husband is sanguine and our 4 y/o son is more so sanguine like his Dad.
Samantha Shapiro on
Fun test. I am melancholic. My children are all grown and now the grandbabies are coming. What a joy rose their unique personalities! Love them,every one.
Carrie Niemi on
Phlegmatic parent with choleric and sanguine children. Their energy and drive to accomplish things is certainly unlike me! They are both delightful and exhausting to my even keel but slower temperament.
Anne on
I got phlegmatic, which sounds about right! I think my son (1.5 years) is more sanguine mixed with a little choleric.
Lauren on
Phlegmatic, husband is too. Life is pretty slow and cozy around here.😊 Not sure about the kids because they are still so young.
Jan on
My son and I are both phlegmatic
Abbey Baer on
Melancholy, that sounds about right
Elizabeth M. on
I got phlegmatic. My kids are are choleric & melancholic.
Sara F. on
I am melancholic, but my oldest (7) is phlegmatic :) I think he is actually more melancholic. My daughter (3) is definitely choleric!
Katie P. on
Sanguine, here!
Alicia B on
I’m so grateful to have found this page! I have been truly diving deep into the temperaments as I research and study Waldorf education(looking to create my own preschool/kindergarten..) I found this Information to be super helpful in understanding my questions about the temperaments; and the test was simple and fun! Thank you! I’m a sanguine and I think my 4 year old son is quite a choleric and my daughter who is a year and a half has both Sanguine and Choleric qualities!
Ashley Burris on