Free The Child Whisperer by Carol Tuttle Page B

mother that his girlfriend’s mother had died. She asked when that had happened. Bridger didn’t know. How did it happen? He didn’t know. How many brothers and sisters does she have? He didn’t know. Bridger’s mother was confused that he spent hours talking on the phone with this girl and in her words, “knows nothing about her.”
    Bridger’s mother asked another question: “What do you talk about?”
    “Nothing,” he said. “Chit-chat.”
    That’s not unusual, nor is it a problem for a Type 1 relationship—especially in high school. In fact, Bridger’s ability to keep things light may have been one of the reasons his first girlfriend was drawn to him!

    . . . .

    High school experience: Social, with a catch
    Type 1 teenagers enjoy the social aspect of high school, but they have to be careful not to adapt or take on the negative energy of their friends. These children face the challenge of being expert chameleons, adapting in whatever way they feel necessary in order to lighten others’ moods. As your Type 1 child goes through their high school experience, watch for signs that they feel weighed down and give them permission to be themselves.

    . . . .

    SUMMER’S STORY
    Adapting to Others
    Summer loves soccer—and she got the bad news that her high school would not be able to have a soccer team unless enough girls played basketball. So Summer joined the basketball team, but she soon became overwhelmed and depressed because it wasn’t fun for her and made her schedule too full and structured.
    She chose to quit the basketball team and has decided to be more careful in the future to recognize her tendency to try pleasing and adapting to others’ demands, particularly when those demands don’t support her natural movement.

    . . . .

    Type 1 children will excel in school when they are able to engage in activities that feel fun to them, whether it be through classes they have fun in, extracurricular activities, or otherwise.

    Child Whisperer Tip: If your Type 1 child has to take classes they deem less fun, support them in finding a way to make the subject they are bored with more entertaining and engaging for them.
    My son, Mario, learned to do this in high school classes he was not as engaged by. Mario used to say he did not have a good memory for test taking in subjects like math, science and history. Yet, he could recall movie lines flawlessly, and sing every word to every popular song. When I noticed how great his recall was with movies and songs, it made total sense—the movies and songs were more entertaining and fun, and his brain more easily engaged. So memory was not an issue for him in learning; it was the lack of fun in more left-brain subjects and style of teaching that lost his interest. He was very successful in creating ways to make these subjects more interesting and engaging for himself. Once he understood this about himself, he sat up front, got more involved in the discussions and even imagined he was watching a movie, which helped him do much better on his tests.
     
    Driving: Quick-minded, maybe distracted
    Parents get a little worried about their Type 1 teens as drivers because these teens seem so distracted much of the time. Yet, these teens are very quick-minded and can be aware of numerous things going on at once and make very quick decisions. The key is not adding extra distractions in their first few months of learning to drive. Keeping the radio and cell phone off and the side conversations to a minimum will keep them from getting distracted and keep their eyes and attention on the road.
    After reading through this section about the development of a Type 1 child, what inspiration do you have about supporting your Type 1 child in living true to their nature? Make note of your thoughts here:

    Physical Characteristics
    At first glance at the 4 Energy Types, most every parent may think their child is a Type 1! This is because we tend to refer to all babies and children as cute and