Human Design Projectors are the World’s Great Illuminators. If you’re raising one, congratulations! You’ve got a powerful, wise and keenly observant little being on your hands. Here are my tips on raising your Projector Kid to be empowered, confident and aligned as they step forward through life.

Projectors are some of the warmest, most brilliant, thought-provoking and clever people I know. They’re awe-inspiring seers and illuminators of how-we-do-things and how-things-could-be-done-better.

Some of the world’s most effective analysts, consultants, product designers and thought leaders are Projectors. We’ve even had a couple of US Presidents who were Projectors (JFK and Barack Obama!).

Projectors are destined to excel–especially, and more so, when they’re noticed for their brilliance, which unfortunately doesn’t always happen.

Like anyone, they’re vulnerable to being overlooked and undervalued. But for Projectors, it’s unique because their energy for ‘just knowing what needs to be fixed’ is best heard, valued and utilized by others when it’s invited in.

That invitation can come, certainly, via words or letters in the mail. But in my experience and observations from living with and working with Projectors, that invitation to share their genius comes purely through an exchange of energy.

Want to know your Energy Type, or your kid’s? Download your chart here!

The Energetic Invite

Projectors have a way about them of ‘seeing right through’ or, at least, ‘into,’ others. It’s like they’re crawling inside your soul and digging around in there. They’re not trying to do this! It just happens.

They’re figure-outers. Processers. Understanders who are busy looking for, and often finding, deep meaning. They’re ace at discovering inefficiencies, and even more gifted at solving those inefficiencies with great ideas for making improvements.

Their energy for clearly seeing things can make the rest of us feel incredibly seen, heard and understood.

Or, it can have the opposite effect on some people, who may feel exposed, vulnerable, like they’re being put under a microscope by a Projector. It’s in these instances that people won’t, energetically, allow a Projector ‘in.’ In other words, they won’t invite the Projector into their aura because they aren’t ready to be seen, heard, evaluated or analyzed in the way that Projector might see, hear and analyze them.

Hence, the invitation. A Projector’s Strategy in Human Design is to ‘wait for the invitation.’ I prefer to call it ‘preparing’ to be invited; because the invitations will, and do, come.

It’s just that a Projector needs to find their people first; the people who’ll notice and appreciate their genius; who’ll open the double doors and welcome said Projector right in with open arms.

Be Your Projector’s Team

When we have a Projector kid, however, we parents need to be their people. We are their people. And if we reject their penetrating aura; if we push away their keen awareness or don’t let them do their essential work of processing in order to understand, we run the risk of raising them to second-guess their reliable intuition.

We begin the detrimental process of conditioning them. We teach them to take a back seat in life; to hide their brilliance; and to doubt their own genius for providing the guidance that so many people (including us) need.

The last thing we want to do as conscientious moms and dads is to make our kids grow up feeling small, irrelevant, disempowered and full of self-doubt.

So, what can we do?

1) Become aware of their true strengths,

2) Learn how our kids can lean into those strengths, and

3) Learn how we can support our kids to use those strengths for their highest good.

If you’re raising a Projector kid, this process begins with embracing the fact that they’re here to guide; to illuminate problems; and to tell the rest of us how to do better. It’s the job they’ve chosen in this lifetime!

So? Let’s help them get to work living a life of empowered alignment, so they can grow up feeling accomplished, embodied, confident, courageous, fulfilled and successful.

Download your kiddo’s Human Design chart for free, and start opening your awareness to the unique gifts they came into this world with!

I’m lucky enough to be raising a Projector whose genius for sketching imaginary airports, building model-sized replicas of architectural landmarks and inventing new Minecraft worlds leaves me speechless on a regular basis.

Below are some tips on what I have found works for raising a Projector Kid. I’ve gathered this knowledge both from firsthand experience raising one, and from working with adult Projectors who’ve shared their childhood memories and told me what they wished they’d had growing up, which might’ve made them feel more empowered and aligned throughout their lives.

Patience is a Virtue, My Grownup

Having patience while your Projector Kid tries to get their words out is critical to their feeling heard, understood, accepted and valued as they grow up.

A Projector wee-one may talk—A LOT—so set boundaries around your own quiet time so that you can stay sane.

But by all means, use respectful phrases if you need to interrupt their outward, verbal processing when they’re rambling and you just. can’t. listen. anymore.

For example, here are some things my husband and I say to our 9-y-o Projector Kid that seem to work to get him to stop soliloquizing endlessly and to not break his spirit in the process:

“I really want to hear what you’re saying, so how about you tell me this when I’m able to fully focus on you and nothing else?”

“I have a few more things to do for work; can you tell me this story when we’re at the dinner table so I can give it my full attention? Because it really sounds like a good one!”

“I’m feeling super distracted right now and I’m not good at multi-tasking. Can you tell me this again in a few minutes because I don’t want to miss any details!”

They Can See Clearly Now

Projector Kids need to be able to use their gift of ‘seeing clearly how we can do better’ in order to learn to wield it effectively.

Projectors are born to shine a light on where others have gone wrong, so they’re going to do that whether we support them or not! It’s up to us parents to guide them toward making a gentle, effective delivery whenever they see problems. And to guide them away from being pushy, aggressive, and overly critical of others.

We have the power to support them so they develop their gifts in a high-vibe expression, OR to let them figure it out on their own and potentially become known as bossy ‘mansplainers’ or know-it-alls.

So, as hard as it might be, let’s work together to try and resist the urge to call them any of those names. (Guilty as charged, ugh.)

Instead, we can help them cultivate and use their keen eye for noticing errors by acknowledging how freaking good at something they are.

Every child wins whey they’re acknowledged and appreciated for some talent or skill. But Projectors need that encouragement and recognition, especially. It’s what makes them feel successful and encourages more of the desired behavior.

To do that, you can start to observe their strengths, and once you find one they enjoy using, make that the ‘thing’ they’re in charge of doing at home.

My kid is our household’s Resident Map Interpreter, Geography Director and Chief Directions Officer. He’s also become Tech Support ever since Covid school made children virtual virtuosos. He makes sure I never get lost on car trips, because he knows how to read Google maps on my phone AND has a photographic memory for streets and intersections. It’s uncanny!

As my husband and I have learned to acknowledge and recognize our son for his gifts in this way, we’ve watched him grow from being shy, hesitant, anxious and ‘always keeping to himself,’ to becoming encouraged, confident, outspoken and truly owning his greatest qualities. It’s an amazing transformation to witness. (Now we just need to work on his Gate 10, Self-Love!)

Rest & Relaxation

Not all Projectors are going to be snuggle-bunnies, but cuddle time and relaxing on the couch together is likely going to be essential. Of course, it’s important for cultivating a sense of deep connection and security, no matter what Energy Type your child is.

But any kid who knows where they’re safe will start to develop a strong sense of confidence as well as healthy boundaries. All things we want as parents! This can begin with calm cuddling time at home.

Projectors and the other non-Sacral beings (Manifestors and Reflectors) are going to be utterly drained after a day at school or daycare, so setting aside time for R&R will help them immensely.

One reason is because non-Sacrals don’t have regenerative, life-force energy that’s constantly being replenished in the Sacral Center the way Generators and Mani-Gens do.

And Projectors, in particular, will have been soaking in other kids’ and teachers’ energy all day, what with their penetrating, absorbing, amplifying and focused aura.

They need the safe, soothing, familiar lap of a trusted parent or guardian to help them readjust to home after swallowing so many other people’s ‘stuff’ all day.

I know that after-school snuggle time might be hard for Generator types to imagine taking a few minutes for. It’s even hard for me, as a Manifestor who cherishes her sacred solitude.

There’s always so much to do, both at work and at home. It can feel really taxing for parents to have to ‘give up’ precious daylight hours that are “supposed to be” used responding to work emails, completing client projects, making dinner or washing dishes.

I have to remind myself that my kids will be too big for my lap sooner than I want them to be! Time flashes by, and the early years are critical to their establishing a healthy sense of self. It’s our job to help them build that, especially when they’re small.

Keep in mind during this snuggle time that, if they’re old enough to talk, they will likely need to talk, potentially a lot, about what happened during their day. So try to put the phone down (this one’s hard for me!) and do your best to give them your ears and attention while they offload.

Remember your boundaries, however, to honor the limitations of your personal and professional time. Perhaps you could set an agreed-upon timeframe for sharing the details of the day, or establish a ritual for your family’s Daily Debriefing where everyone gets the mic for 10 minutes to share about what happened.

Draining in Solitude

Your Projector Kid will benefit greatly if you’re able to honor their need for alone time. After absorbing other people’s energy at school all day or after attending hectic birthday parties or family events, they’ll need to clear out what’s not theirs and realign to their true selves.

Projector Kids will have to purge their teachers’, friends’, and classmates’ junk so they can learn what it feels like to bask in their own energy.

Once they get a feel for who-they-really-are, without anyone else around,, they can re-emerge from the solace of their rooms or their quiet corners feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.

That’s a plus for us, because they’ll be a lot more pleasant to spend time with.

It shouldn’t take long for them to drain others’ energy. 15 minutes of book or Lego time when they get home from school might be just enough time to let them take a few deep breaths and resume their natural state.

If they don’t have a private space they can retreat to at your home, can you imagine an area they might be able to claim as their own, cozy corner?

Check out this short and helpful YouTube video by Tess Taylor on how to create a safe, quiet area that won’t take up much space for your kiddo to unwind and clear out any unwanted energy.

What tips do you have for raising a Projector Kid? I’d love to know and share them with the community!

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