Aw beautiful. Thanks, hun. I always keep this in mind, as I watch my two children who are so very different.

My DD1 is easy-going and fun. She is not particularly empathetic, but it means she is able to take on the responsibility of caring for her pets without flinching, even when things are not pleasant. She sees death, sickness and suffering and is able to take it in, is sorry that it happens, but doesn't take it to heart. This will make her extremely useful in responding practically to a situation or crisis when she's an adult, whatever it may be. So where we are concerned she isn't caring enough, it's good that there are others who are more able to be compassionate beside her. On the other hand, I don't try to make DD1 feel bad for not dissolving into tears when something goes wrong, or a friend stops talking to her or hurts her feelings (or she hurts someone else's ). As long as she is considerate within normal measures, that's as far as I go.

My DD2 is a little firecracker when things don't go her way. She throws tantrums quickly and gets very upset about things we consider relatively minor (already). But I bet when she's older she will hold to her principles with the same conviction and remain unswayed by popular opinion. She'll stand up for herself (and probably her sister!) and be heard when she wants to be. That's a fantastic thing to be able to do in life. And she already shows us that she cares about others and is interested in what they are doing.

It isn't hard to see how your child's traits might play out in the bigger picture. Supporting their natural abilities and tendencies, whether they be intellectual, physical, or emotional, surely is your job as a parent. Just like you can't force someone who's tone-deaf to become a concert pianist, you shouldn't force a sensitive child to be less sensitive. And vice versa.