Different Kids Different Approaches

I have four children who are as alike as apples, oranges, brownies and chewing gum. It often amazes me that these four children were birthed by the same parents and raised in the same home! They are very unique individuals and they have very different strengths and traits. And they require very different things from me, and yet different things from their Dad.

Landon, 3 years and Sutter, 2 years

I always chuckle when I read a book by a parenting “expert” who has one easy child, and who has been lulled into thinking that they have this “parenting” thing licked. (Only when their second, more spirited child arrives do they recognize that they need to learn a few . . . hundred new things.)

When parents expect all children to act exactly the same, or if they expect the same child to respond precisely the same way in every situation (they don’t!), they set themselves up for frustration. That’s why I think that it’s important for us to have a wide repertoire of parenting skills so we can modify what we do to make it work best for each child in our family.

Elliott, 3 years and Matilda, 1 year

The best advice I can give you is to be ambidextrous! Read a few good parenting books and magazines for ideas, and take a parenting class or two, and then apply what you learn to each of your children in the unique and special way that is best for them. And then take pleasure in the variety they give back to you.

Check out my Kids In The House Video Series for helpful parentings tips – no matter how different your children are these basic parenting tools are great to add to your toolbox!