Intellectual SolePath parents are logical, methodical and truly kind.

This article is part of the SolePath Parenting series.

Charismatic ‘Sun’ Child | Compassionate ‘Moon’ Child | Inspirational ‘Cosmic’ Child
Intellectual ‘Star’ Child | Intuitive ‘Earth’ Child | Spiritual ‘Celestial’ Child

Intellectuals are the great minds of the world. The three Intellectual SolePaths are Intellectual Controller, Intellectual Expert and Intellectual Lateral Thinker. 

Intellectual LightPath, parenting Superpowers:  

1. Your superpower is your Brain Power: You are an intellectual person who is curious, needs process, is unique and kind.
   • Intellectual: you are a deep thinker and bring logic and brain power to your parenting.
   • Curious: your natural curiosity helps you solve your parenting challenges.
   • Process: take your time to think things through, you will always come up with the right answer.
   • Unique: you don’t think in the same way that others do and will do things differently. 
   • Kind: you are a kind parent. Remember that.
2. Self- care: Give yourself a break from parenting with mental distractions. Choose to make time to do things that will help relax your brain and give you a rest from your parenting responsibilities e.g. interesting podcasts, puzzles, games, meditation.
3. Action: Focus on sharing your blessings and being kind. Kindness and generosity are a natural part of who you are and will have an impact on your current and future relationship with your child. You are curious and connected.

Intellectual DarkPath parenting hazards: 

1. Arrogance: You can sometimes think that you are the only one who is right and you don’t mind making others, including your child, feel stupid. You use your considerable intellect to tear down and criticize rather than to build up.
2. Tone: You are good with words and instead of using language to make your child feel good, you often take on a condescending tone. It takes you a while to realize that saying the same thing, but in a louder more irritated voice, doesn’t usually make what you are saying easier to understand!

See below for more parenting insights into your own SolePath: are you an Intellectual Controller, Intellectual Expert or Intellectual Lateral Thinker. 

If you don’t yet know your or your child’s SolePath, click here to request it.

Intellectual Controller parenting gifts and greatness

If you have an Intellectual Controller LightPath, to be the best parent that you can be:

1. Responsible: As an Intellectual Controller parent you are one of those unique individuals who just loves responsibility. You model confidence and belief in yourself for your child. People look up to you and your child finds this comforting as they always know where they stand with you. 
2. Boss:  You love to give structure and direction, to organize and coordinate. Find ways to do this in a way that leaves everyone feeling good.
3. Unemotional: As an Intellectual Controller parent your lack of emotion makes you a steady and predictable parent. This creates a wonderful feeling of security for your child.  

If you have an Intellectual Controller DarkPath, to stay light and loving: 

1. Crushing: Your inner power, physical stamina and incredible energy can overwhelm your child. Especially if they have chosen a softer more emotional SolePath. Take account of who they are (different from you) and actively find ways to boost their self-esteem. 
2. Bulldozer: Your desire and ability to take charge is an incredible life skill. Think about how to do this in a kind way, without acting like a bulldozer. Parenting is an exercise in ‘thinking on the fly’ and this doesn’t necessarily mean that things are out of control. Your child needs a life and a space in which they can exert some form of their own control.
3. Coldness: Find ways to connect to your own emotions. Think about your child’s emotions. Yes, emotion makes you uncomfortable, but it plays a big part in your child’s life. You can be a bit serious, consciously choose to play and have fun with your child. You don’t have to try to control your child – sometimes life unfolds perfectly without your struggle.

Intellectual Expert parenting gifts and greatness

If you have an Intellectual Expert LightPath, to be the best parent that you can be:

1. Specialist: As an Intellectual Expert parent, you take the time and put in the effort to study and understand how to be the best parent you can be. You find your resources wherever you can, and see your mind as a muscle that you just love to stretch, just for the fun of it.  
2.  Research: You love to study and go deep into a subject. You don’t skim the surface of any subject you are interested in, including parenting. You can be captivated for hours, happily spending time with data and knowledge, uncovering it all. 
3. Contribute: Because you have done the research and taken the time to delve into parenting as a subject, as an Intellectual Expert parent you are able to provide clarity and understanding to others. You love to share your knowledge and skills. 

If you have an Intellectual Expert DarkPath, to stay light and loving:

1. Aloof: Your desire to specialize and to be the best parent that you can be is an incredible life skill. Recognize that parenting is not a theoretical exercise, your child will blossom when you get involved with them and their life.
2. Time: Give your child your time. Your predisposition is to read, research and study and go deep into the subject of parenting. Find a happy medium between learning on the job, sharing experiences with your child, and looking at theoretical experiences of others.
3. Know it all: It is understood that you have done the study and research on great parenting strategies. Find opportunities to make a contribution and to share what you know with others, in a positive way. No one appreciates a ‘know it all’ and parenting is an experiential exercise, it cannot all be learned from a book.

Intellectual Lateral Thinker parenting gifts and greatness

If you have an Intellectual Lateral Thinker LightPath, to be the best parent that you can be:

1. Innovator: As an Intellectual Lateral Thinker parent you think outside the box. You think in a different way and just love innovation, originality, different ideas and change. This makes you an exciting and interesting parent. Bring your interest in unusual and different concepts and ideas to your parenting style. 
2. Solutions: You are a natural problem solver. You can think about things in a completely different way and approach solutions from a different direction. You have a great gift of finding innovative solutions to your parenting challenges.
3. Debate: As an Intellectual Lateral Thinker parent you get excited about life and can be very talkative. Be sure to let your child get a word in edgeways. Being such an interesting conversationalist is a wonderful skill to model for them. 

If you have an Intellectual Lateral Thinker DarkPath, to stay light and loving:

1. Changeability: You are open-minded, exciting and flexible but this can lead to extreme changeability. As an Intellectual Lateral Thinker parent you can sometimes want change just for the excitement and the sake of change! Your child needs stability and for you to reach for perseverance.
2. Boredom: The job of parenting requires you to have routine and undertake repetitive tasks. Find ways to engage your active mind and make being a parent interesting. Raising a child requires problem/solution thinking, engage this natural gift.
3. Argumentative: Intellectual Lateral Thinker’s love to debate. Make sure this does not become argumentative with your child. Sometimes they are just too young to understand that you aren’t looking for a fight, but rather taking a different point of view.

If you don’t yet know your or your child’s SolePath, click here to request it.

Author: Dr. Debra Ford Msc.D.

Dr. Debra is a spiritual philosophy teacher with a doctorate in metaphysical science. She is an ordained minister and member of the American metaphysical doctors association and the Canadian international metaphysical ministry. Dr. Debra’s SolePath is Inspirational Teacher and Spiritual Mystic. It is this SolePath that allows her to connect, create and communicate the SolePath body of work. She is the author of 16 books including ‘SolePath the path to purpose and a beautiful life‘, ‘Daily Pulse, rhythm of the Tao‘ and her children’s book ‘Emilia Rose and the rainbow adventure’.

Contact: DrDebra@SolePath.org