Unicorns and Dragons and Dragicorns! OH MY!

No two children are alike. Doesn't matter if they are siblings or even twins! Children are born with unique personalities. Honestly, it is almost as if they form these personalities at conception because every pregnancy is different! Children can generally fall into one of these three categories: Unicorns, Dragons, and Dragicorns. 

A Unicorn baby/child is a "mythical creature" that easily falls into a regular routine. They are generally happy and content the majority of the time. They fall asleep easily and stay asleep. These are babies/children that are just a pleasure to be around! To simplify, unicorns are just "easy."

A Dragon baby/child (on the other hand) is high-spirited, resists routine, has trouble sleeping and feeding. They seem to be malcontent or crabby more often than not. They may have EXTREME separation anxiety. They tend to be more vocal about their displeasure and feel things very intensely.

Dragicorn babies/children are those that are a combination of both Unicorns and Dragons.  They may have serious meltdowns, but they aren't constant. There are times that you can definitely see the sunshine even though they have some high-spirited times.

Having six kids, I have the pleasure of having at least one of each.

My oldest is the epitome of a Unicorn! She was born premature, but when she came home she was just EASY! She slept through the night by about 3 months. She preferred solids to the bottle by the time she was about 11 months. She definitely gave me a false sense of reality when it came to how babies were supposed to act. Even now at 13, she is an A student in honors classes.

The best example of a Dragicorn would be my 3rd from the youngest. She easily fell into a routine, didn't have trouble sleeping. She was very attached to me though. She really didn't like anyone else. Then when it came to eating, she didn't want anything solid until she was 2 years old. She cried EVERY DAY she had to go to school from Kindergarten until 2nd grade. She still has her moments of not wanting to leave, but it isn't nearly as bad anymore. Everyone loves her personality. She is an absolute sweetheart!

Then, came my dragon. She came out breathing fire! I was in the OR a little longer than normal, so her dad had to keep her until they finished patching me up. She screamed from the time they took her out of the room with me until I was finally able to get her. When people talk about stranger anxiety or separation anxiety, I kind of has to laugh to myself. I literally cannot be out of her eyesight without a MAJOR breakdown! She takes velcro to a whole new level. Just recently people could say "Hi" to her with her SCREAMING at them until we could get away from that person. She is in the process of being tested for different things but has just recently been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.


I love each of my children equally and they have each taught me different things about life and how different people can be! My parenting style has had to change often in my mom's journey. Allowing myself patience and grace as well as for my children and other people in general. It is so easy to judge a parent when you've not had to deal with a child that is similar.

I remember walking through Walmart with my older girls who were preteens. A toddler was having a meltdown and the girls laughed. I was a little upset that they would embarrass that mom like that. I had a serious conversation with them right there in the store. We don't know what they are going through. We don't know how rough of a day they've already had. What we do know is that we don't have the right to judge anyone else!

Kids have different personalities, just like adults. Having a Dragon doesn't make you a bad parent any more than lucking up and having a Unicorn makes you an expert. Just something to remember the next time your Dragon has a meltdown in the grocery store or when you are eating out with your Unicorn and see another parent dealing with their Dragon.