A free, picture-based temperament test your child can do alone in about three minutes. There is nothing to read: they simply tap the picture they prefer. At the end they get a friendly profile — Explorer, Thinker or Performer — and a daily mood diary that keeps going afterwards.
Temperament models describe stable styles of reacting to the world. Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), for example, separates novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence and persistence. Your Tadpole’s three child-friendly profiles are a simplified, playful reading of those same tendencies.
Drawn to novelty, movement and trying things out. Explorers tend to answer quickly and pick the more open, adventurous picture.
Overlaps with the novelty-seeking dimension described in temperament research such as the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI).
Takes time, notices detail and prefers calm, ordered scenes. Thinkers often pause longer before choosing.
Sits closer to the harm-avoidance and persistence dimensions in the TCI framework — careful, reflective, steady.
Enjoys being seen, sharing and connecting. Performers lean towards pictures with people, warmth and expression.
Echoes the reward-dependence dimension in the TCI — sensitive to approval, warmth and social feedback.
The profiles are a conversation starter, not a label or a clinical category.
Most children’s questionnaires ask a child to read a sentence, understand it and rate it. Younger children, reluctant readers and children answering in a second language all struggle with that. Picture choices come from instinct, which is exactly what a temperament measure is trying to catch — and because the answers are pictures, the app can also record how steady the child’s choices are and how quickly they answer.
A temperament test describes a child's natural style — how they react to new things, how carefully they decide, and how much they seek out other people. It is a description of style, not an ability score and not a diagnosis.
About 3 to 5 minutes. The child taps the picture they prefer in each pair; there is nothing to read and no right answer.
It is designed for children aged 6 to 12. Because it uses pictures rather than written statements, reading level and language are not a barrier.
No. Your Tadpole is a playful picture test and daily mood diary. It does not diagnose anything and does not replace a professional assessment or a validated screen such as the SMFQ or PSC-17. If you are worried about your child's mood, speak to a GP, school lead or mental-health professional.
The child gets their profile, and from then on a daily check-in of five picture pairs takes under a minute and builds a five-face mood chart automatically, day after day.
Free, picture-based and made for kids aged 6–12. No reading needed.
Start the picture test
Your Tadpole