Kids are... themselves. Especially if/as you have more than one and as they get older, you will appreciate how different kids are from one another, and how muc

Kids are... themselves. Especially if/as you have more than one and as they get older, you will appreciate how different kids are from one another, and how much of that is baked in. So it's a great idea to lead by example, keep your door open, etc., but the best piece of advice is the one you've already given yourself: when it comes to their interests, meet your child where they are instead of where you want them to be. And your example of athletics is no joke: that is exactly the story of my oldest (age 11), for whom his organizing force in life is baseball. While the interest in baseball emphatically did not come from me (or my wife), I have come to appreciate the existential joy of playing catch with him or watching a ballgame with him or hitting pop-flies to him long after the sun is down. Yes, a part of me wishes that he were more interested in some of the things that I liked at his age (and I will continue to hold those doors open for him should his interests shift) -- but it pales in comparison to the bond we have formed over the stuff that really matters to him.