Final Thoughts

 

 

Raising children is challenging. Most of the time, we feel overwhelmed with the task—both related to our temperament and related to how our child’s temperament interacts with our own. We worry about the difficulties our introverted child may face in a world that heralds extroversion as the ideal. We wonder if we have done all that we can to help our child recognize his or her own gifts as an introvert.

Yes, parenting is a difficult job.

It’s my hope that the strategies I’ve provided will give you some respite, some understanding of the introverted children in your life. And maybe some insight into you or your spouse.

The strategies presented probably sound easy to accomplish. The tip sheets may seem like things you have heard a hundred times before. I caution you not to assume that “easy sounding” is easy to master. Within the simple wording of the strategy is a technique that often takes time to learn to execute well. Even with perfect execution, they may not always work. There will be times when the introversion, yours or your child’s, gets the better of you. Things will go wrong. They just will.

I say this not to discount you or the book, but to assure you that when things go wrong, when life’s curveballs get to be too much and nothing seems to help, it is my hope that the things you’ve picked up in the book will help you remember that life is about these teachable moments. It is about the times when you get to start over, try again, and keep working.

Should you reach a time when you feel like you’ve failed at parenting, a time when you are convinced that you’ve somehow “hurt” your child by not being effective in your parenting, I want you to remember something—you will not fail so long as you continue to try. Help your children understand what it means to be introverted. Help him or her develop strategies to build on the positive aspects of introversion and negate the more negative ones. Teach him or her how to find balance when things get overwhelming. Do this, and you will never fail.

You will eventually have more successes on this journey than perceived failures. You will see your child embrace his or her introversion and develop his or her own ways of coping, ways that enhance his or her strengths. When you see these moments, take some time to celebrate. You both deserve it.

And then, send me an e-mail. I would love to hear from you about your journey. Contact me with your own stories and suggestions. I can be reached via e-mail at Christine@christinefonseca.com or on my many social networking sites. Together we can help our children embrace the truth of who they are and build on their attributes.