The Capricorn Child

* The big difference between little Capricorns and most other kids is that they never actually see themselves as children. They feel, and act, much more grown up than their age, with the result that they’re often more at home in the company of adults than their own peer group. In the attempt to avoid appearing childish and needy, they’re good at controlling their true feelings and putting on a dignified front. For the sake of their pride, they want you to treat them like capable little adults, not like helpless babies.

* To gain a high level of self-esteem, a Capricorn child needs to be recognized as having a strong sense of responsibility. This means that, at every stage of their development, they need to be given little duties appropriate to their age and capabilities, and then praised for having carried them out correctly and dependably. Two big mistakes you can make in raising a Capricorn child are never to entrust them with important tasks, or to read them the riot act for having messed up in some way. In both cases you will be instilling your young Goat with a deep sense of worthlessness.

* From their earliest years, a Capricorn child is keenly aware that their key purpose in life is to achieve worldly success. Perhaps this will consist of rising to a high status, perhaps making lots of money, or preferably both! What’s common to all Capricorn children is their desire to better themselves materially and/or socially. Because their ambitiousness is an essential part of who they are and how they like to think of themselves, to make them feel validated and well supported, you should do your best to urge them on in all their important life goals.

* Because self-discipline comes naturally to young Capricorns, they require very little disciplining by their parents or teachers. Actually, cracking the whip is more likely to hinder than help the average Capricorn child. Because they already push themselves so hard, and beat themselves up so much over their failures, they don’t need you pointing out where they could do better and urging them to try even harder. All Capricorns kids have workaholic tendencies which are exacerbated by an overly authoritarian upbringing.

* Capricorn children take themselves – and life in general – exceptionally seriously. They can seem strangely pessimistic and cynical for their young years, but they’d rather be prepared for the worst than blithely hope for the best and then suffer terrible disappointments. While you can never turn a Capricorn child into a Polyanna, you can and should encourage them to hold more positive expectations of life, take a few more little risks and chances, and be readier to see the funny side when their carefully structured plans go wrong.