Accepting Parent
When children are very young, we are constantly proud of them. We show off their pictures taken in the nursery. We describe each new development: The first tooth, the first step, the first word and so on. We beam. We flash pictures. Right from the start we feel we have the perfect child.

It continues to be easy to be proud of our children as they grow older, especially if they get good grades in school, make an athletic team or win awards for other endeavors. The truth of the matter is that most of our children, regardless of the amount of love lavished on them and the careful nurturing they receive, will not turn out to be superachievers. Many of them are going to be ordinary -- just like most of us. And yet, each child has many traits that are easy to admire, and parents must remember to be appreciative of these. Coaches try to teach their team members that it's not the winning that is important, it's how well the team plays. How can parents do the same?