Parenting by Personality: Part III

Parenting is a hard job, but when you and your child have opposing personalities, life can become really difficult if you don't try to understand exactly what is going on. What happens when your child is athletic and you're not? This is another example of conflicting personalities between parent and child. The Jock vs. the Couch Potato. "What you need to know is that it doesn't matter if you like sports or not," says Dr. Berman. " What matters is you love your child and want to learn about his/her world. Letting kids teach us about the things they love helps us connect with them and understand their life."

What to do.

1. Look into opportunities at school or in your community for your child to participate in sports, and attend the games.

2. Ask your child questions that allow him/her to be the expert and to teach you. It will give your child a sense of mastery and self-confidence.

3. Use your child's interest in athletics to get both of you moving. (example) Shoot some hoops together. Ask, "Will you show me how to do a lay-up? I can't do it." says brown Braun, "Modeling not being good at something is fabulous. It lets your child be the ace and also gives them permission not to be good at something, too."