Sherrynne Dalby - Star Parenting: What Astrology Reveals About Your Childs Personality and Potential

Putting together a book involves many people, not just the one who writes the words. I thought it was a fairly simple process before I began but was soon to find out how wrong I was. To that end I want to thank Maggie Hamilton, my angel from Allen & Unwin, who had the vision to birth the Inspired Living imprint. It was also Maggie who in her wisdom approached me with the idea to write this book. Star Parenting had been a dream for a long time but Maggie made it a reality; thank you, Maggie. I must also thank Ros Burton from Adyar for bringing Maggie and me together, as well as Aziza Kuypers, Kathy Mossop and all of the wonderful staff at Allen & Unwin.

On a more personal note, I thank my partner Ed Tamplin whose perseverance and striving for excellence over many years has helped improve my writing style to the point where I could make Star Parenting happen. I love you, Ed. Of course my children have all contributed much to the experience I have drawn from when putting all of the information together; our children have much to teach us if we are willing to learn. Finally I wish to thank my youngest daughter Caitlin and granddaughter Olivia for their love and support and especially for putting up with my moods and panic attacks, and for being my sounding-board.

Your childs horoscope can reveal many things that will give you a head start from the moment of your childs birth. Why do some babies need lots of physical contact, while others dont enjoy being held tightly? Why do some children go to bed and straight to sleep every night, while others are still wide awake long after you are ready for bed? Why are some kids easygoing and have no problem making friends, while others prefer their own company? Your childs horoscope answers these questions and more. As well as showing possible areas of conflict or difficulty for your child, their horoscope also provides solutions, so you can put in place strategies to help overcome problems before or as they arise.

Its much easier to be a better and more informed parent and to know how to protect and nurture your child when you understand whats best for them. Through your childs horoscope a trained astrologer can see at a glance if your child is more likely to have allergies or susceptibility to other health issues. They can also see if your child is likely to have fears or phobias, and how and when these are likely to manifest. Just as your childs genes will determine the colour of their eyes, skin or hair, so their birth chart shows personality characteristics, what type of activities they prefer, even their food preferences.

As you will see, astrology gives us wonderful insights into the various stages of childhood development and why these stages occur when they do. Most people have heard of the terrible twos, for example, but Star Parenting explains why this occurs at the age of two and not three or four. Why do babies become clingy at around six months and why do some children find socialising so easy while others have so much difficulty in this area? These quesions are all answered in commonsense and easy-to-understand language that puts you in the position of knowing rather than wondering.

You will also gain insights about yourself as a parent. Why does one child always seem to know which buttons to push? Why does it seem easier or harder to relate to particular children? With Star Parenting you will understand more about psychological motivators and how to work with them. These insights will help you improve your parenting skills, create a better relationship with your child and put your son or daughter on the path that will unlock their hidden potential. Wouldnt it be great to know from the time your child was very young the career path they will be most suited to, and to be able to put the right tools at their fingertips from a young age? With Star Parenting you will be in a much more informed position to do just that. Whether your child is a potential artist, scientist, teacher, lawyer, musician or plumber, you will be able to provide them with activities that will suit their needs.

I have been at the births of all of my grandchildren. As I was aware of where the planets were during each labour, I was able to predict the major characteristics of my grandchildren even before they were born. I was able to tell my daughter, Caitlin, that her baby girl would be a fussy feeder, so she didnt feel a failure when breastfeeding proved difficult. As a result, Caitlin was able to utilise feeding practices that suited her daughters individual needs. Olivia is now a happy four-year-old with a healthy appetite. Too often, parents experience feelings of guilt and failure when there is a problem. But rather than failing to be a good parent, it is usually simply a case of not understanding their childs needs.

Astrology is brilliant at helping parents fill in the gaps. Its not surprising that astrology is so helpful; it is the oldest science known to man. Most of our modern sciences developed from the study of the heavens. The ancients living in Mesopotamia created the longest continuous record of scientific observation in human history, spanning several thousand years. Their observations not only plotted the movement of heavenly bodies but also recorded daily the events that coincided with these movements: as above, so below. The modern astrologer draws on over four thousand years of accumulated learning when interpreting the position of the Earth and other planets at any given moment in time, for example, in the birth horoscope.

Coming from a large family and myself the mother of seven children, I have had plenty of experience with family dynamics and how different individual children can be. But it wasnt until I began a study of astrology that I gained the insights I had been missing. Knowing the nuances of your childs personality traits, their individual potential, and the timing of their stages of development is something all parents struggle with, and astrology provides the key to understanding.

For example, you probably wouldnt be aware that your childs ability to communicatewhen they will utter their first word, and so onis connected with the movement of the planet Mercury in their chart. The development of motor skillswhen your child takes their first stepsis related to the planet Mars, while specific likes and dislikes can be traced to the placement of Venus and the Moon at the time of their birth.

Star Parenting goes into much greater depth than the popular Sun signmore commonly called star signastrology. In fact, it will plainly show you why your child may not be, say, a typical Aries or Taurus. It will instead show you who they really are.

One of the criticisms levelled at astrology is that it only uses one of twelve Sun signs to describe an individuals personality. In fact, each persons horoscope is a unique combination of Sun, Moon and the other eight planets in our solar system. Simply by adding the Moon sign to the Sun sign we go from twelve to 144 possible personality types. When we add the other planets, such complex combinations are created that it makes each moment in time unique; the horoscope for a birth can never be repeated.

The advantage of astrology over any of the personality tests is that it offers a clear map for our life course, from the moment we draw our first breath. You, the parent, will have this advantage: knowing and understanding your childs predisposition, you can create a world that will nurture and encourage them in safety and comfort.

You will be able to clearly discern their different developmental stages and why these occur at different times, understanding that each child operates on their own schedule. In a fast-moving, constantly changing world,