How "Different" Are Our Kids

[BW]

Well, in early, June Bravo is doing a sequel to its "Showbiz Moms and Dads", this time it's billed as "Sports Moms and Dads" and, if the previews are any clue, I'm sorry to say that we're going to see at least a few extremely pushy parents. The pushy parent syndrome in which the parent(s) lives out their own "I could have been a contender" issues also inhabits the college application process, too.

 

We parents do a great deal of good, but we all need to check ourselves in the mirror every once in a while, I'm sure.

[Guest Annabel Lee]

Thank you so much for the welcome, BW. You all make such good points and I certainly agree with you, Vagansmom. I have one child who as a teenager appeared to have no real interest beyond the next episode of Dawson's Creek. Now in her early twenties, she holds a graduate degree, has lived in three countries and is fluent in a second language.

But to get back to the original question...I can honestly say that in terms of how we might define a typical teen, my dancing daughter was probably the most typical of all. She was the most fashion conscious, the first to buy into the latest fad, she had a spark of rebellion and she flirted a bit with risky behavior. Now if you were to ask me if she was "different" as a child, I would have to say absolutely! She had a more vivid imagination, her play was more creative, her emotions more intense and her general thought process seemed to be different. I used to think, hmmm, this kid is a little odd! Of course, all that was apparent long before she took her first ballet class and probably had much to do with why she did.