PARENTING October 19, 2009 Issue

WHEN YOUR KIDS ARE OPPOSITES

HELEN STEVERMER

HE IS AN ENGINEER, She an aspiring performer. It's hard to believe two siblings could be so different, but they are.

Even as a toddler, my son Harrison was steady as a rock. He waited to take his first step until he was sure of his footing and his course. He never pushed boundaries or teetered off balance. He sailed through the time period others called the "terrible twos" and earned his family nickname Mr. Reliable.

Then came Julia, more than a decade later. Unlike her brother, she was a fireball as a toddler. Her unconquerable spirit was amusing but at times exhausting. She was always careening off balance into furniture or tripping over the dog. Julia, our "live wire."

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