I Read My Child's Birth Chart — & Instantly Regretted It

If you’re like me and among the 27% of Americans who believe in astrology, you probably know that birth charts outline a person’s strengths and weaknesses. But while astrology has long been an interest of mine, I only recently realized I could use a child’s birth chart calculator to see what the stars potentially have in store for my 5-year-old son.

I immediately regretted reading what I found.

The negative part of my son’s reading honestly threw me for a loop. It’s one thing to read about ~my~ possible weaknesses in my horoscope, like easily doubting myself when challenges arise. It’s another to picture my son struggling with things that, according to his birth chart, are permanent. Immovable. Fated.

Of course, his birth chart also contained positive things. I read that my son will likely be naturally smart and have an easy time making friends. I’ve already seen that in action. He learned to speak quickly and has more friends at this point than his older sister did.

But now, I was faced with the knowledge that indecisiveness could complicate his future, and gaining this purported insight made me wonder what I should do with the information.

Would I have had an easier time in life if someone had told me about my future struggles while I was still young? In some cases, maybe. Then again, I could’ve grappled with self-esteem issues because all I would’ve heard was that my own brain could work against me. Would telling my son about those negative traits make it easier for him to overcome them when he was older? Or would it make him feel permanently held back by himself?

I struggled with this for days.

I ultimately decided to view his free will as holding more weight. Astrology is just supposed to give us a framework for our lives; it’s never set in stone.

Whenever my son makes a decision now — like choosing which of his friends to invite over — I make sure to praise his decision. It even aligns with my authoritative parenting style: Positive reinforcement actively teaches kids good behaviors while they learn bad behaviors through appropriate punishments. Recognizing what they’re doing right and celebrating those things is just as important, especially if we’re up against personality traits that might make life more difficult.

What I’ve learned through this experience (and what you may need to hear, too) is that the negative parts of your child’s birth chart or personality type or *whatever* don’t define them. Regardless of any predictions, you can help your kid be their best self by managing the things they could wrestle with later on.

It all comes down to repeated actions becoming habits if we do them with our kids long enough, like positive reinforcement. I’m hopeful that my son will struggle less with indecisiveness because I’m showing him how to make decisions confidently now.

In other words, I’ve reframed the way I look at the more problematic parts of my son’s birth chart. I think of it now as more of a tool than anything else — a little glimpse that allows me to raise him to learn skills to combat negative personality traits.

I wish all parents held this point of view from the get-go so they could bypass the anxiety I felt. So, if you’re tempted to read your kid’s, just remember: Birth charts may be accurate about some things, but they’re not guaranteed fates.

Beth Rush is the family wellness editor at Body+Mind, a health and wellness brand. Her work centers around building healthy dynamics within families.