Navigating the waters of parenting is difficult enough without also trying to figure out the different needs of your children. All three of my children are so different from one another. What works for one child may not work for another. Sometimes I feel like I am throwing the dice and hoping I land right.
When I was a child and teenager, I was very sensitive. I took everything to heart and would cry at the drop of a hat. I internalized things too much. Throughout the years I have grown out of that. In fact, sometimes I can be so the opposite that I could probably stand to get back some of that sensitivity.
Since that is something I have learned to overcome, I find it challenging to see that same sensitivity in one of my children. My youngest son is extremely sensitive. He gets hurt easily and allows even snide remarks to get to him. I try to tell him to brush it off but I guess that is because I have forgotten what it’s like to deal with that.
One of the challenges in parenting is being able to deal with personality traits in your children that you may not understand. It is easy for me to say that he should ignore the very unkind remark his best friend made to him. Yet I have to try and put myself in his shoes. How would I feel hearing my best friend say something so mean?
Just because we don’t handle situations a certain way, doesn’t mean that our children should be made to feel bad because they do. We are all wired differently and I think there needs to be an acceptance and understanding of our children’s differences.
Instead of chiding your child for the way they react or handle something, try to see things from their perspective. Remember that everyone is different and we should embrace those differences with sensitivity and understanding.
Maybe it’s time we walk a bit in our children’s shoes.
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