I was relieved when my second son came along, to finally have a child that reads, and was guilty of expressing that. As a scholar myself, with zero interest in sports, it was extremely difficult for me to understand much less accept how I could give birth to a child who delights in and finds complete joy in a soccer ball. This is not as simple as it may seem, because every parent secretly has their own idea of who and what they want their child to be. The first thing I had to learn was to acknowledge and accept each of my sons for who they are. Acknowledge and celebrate their differences In coming to grips with trying to adequately parent two uniquely different and sometimes opposite personalities, I have developed five parenting tips:ġ. While I see aspects from both descriptions above in my sons, they are more than these stereotypes, they are INDIVIDUALS. I learned the hard way that these molds are nothing but stereotypes. They tend to be consumed with books and any medium that will satisfy their thirst to understand and know more. Typically, scholars are high academic performers with very curious minds. After all, they spend extremely long hours at training and games. They tend to be smart, but not always overly interested in academics. Typically, kids like him tend to be outgoing, extremely likable, physically fit, and have an overdose of self-confidence.

The belief is that if we know where they fit, we can better parent them.Īs a mom of boys with two distinctly different personalities and interests, I have had to deal with this phenomenon personally. As parents, we often try to fit our children into molds. In the Caribbean, there is an expression, 'Seven brothers, seven different minds'.

Making Me Happen by Taayoo A. Murray