Parenting is hard, but everyone has different challenges. Over the past couple of years, I've learned about what makes my kid unique, and how best to support those differences. Right now, my biggest challenges with those differences are:
- Overcoming perfectionism - she fears failure so much that she sometimes can't get started at all. She has a hard time attempting something she isn't 100% confident of doing successfully. She is her own worst enemy.
- Teaching grit - when things come easily to her, it's hard to show her the value of practice and perseverance, which will make or break her future endeavors.
- Sensitivities - her sensitivities are extreme, much more so than most kids, because she is capable of such depth of feeling and seeing such a big picture, being mentally mature before her emotional maturity has caught up. I'm constantly on the watch for meltdowns.
- Humility - People hate a braggart, and while they adore sports superstars, they abhor intellectual prowess, she doesn't understand yet why she has to be sensitive to this. I've been sensitized to this myself over my lifetime and it makes me a little sad to have to protect her from this as well.
- Allowing her to fulfill her potential - it is my responsibility to seek opportunities, to engage, to guide, to advocate. I have no role model for this, and sometimes feel like I'm barely treading water on this.
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