What if my child doesn't fit in?

I don’t know. What if he doesn’t? I can only share my own experience.

My children are not in sports. This may not seem like that big of a deal. However, I grew up in a small town. Sports were all that there was available to do. I am very competitive and I felt like I didn’t have worth if I wasn’t involved in sports. As for how to address my children, I was full of anxiety. Once I realized not only were my children not athletes, they weren’t even competitive. They enjoyed school but only asked to have friends over once or twice. My children were friends with each other. They may have been total nerds, but that was fine with them, they were totally happy. I was so worried that they would be lonely or feel left out. I was worried other children would make fun of them (which may have happened) but, my children were blissfully unaware. Each of them had their own hobbies. They also shared hobbies like writing a comic book together.

I guess when your child doesn’t fit in, you need to help him find what he wants to do or be. Anxiety or lack of confidence can radiate from a parent and negatively influence their self worth. Accept that they may be different from you and get to know them better. If your child doesn’t know they are different don’t tell them they are. If your child doesn’t fit in, help them find a new environment, an environment that will support their interests and tendencies. My children love the public library, but don’t want to go see a football game (I was raised on football). My children are the exact opposite of me. Once I got over our differences and learned more about who each of them were, life was so much easier.

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