Posts tagged Highly sensitive kid
Ways To Support Your Highly Sensitive Kid
Ways To Support Your Highly Sensitive Kid

(Before continuing you might want to read my previous post: Some Signs Your Kid Is Highly Sensitive.) 

So, you have a highly sensitive kid. Now what?

The following are my big picture recommendations from my work with highly sensitive kids both in the classroom and in private sessions over the past decade - and from being a highly sensitive kid myself. 

And honestly, the following recommendations are great for ALL kids. But/and some are even more necessary for highly sensitive ones. 

1. ACCEPT THEM AS THEY ARE

Your child was born with a more sensitive nervous system. They are not pretending to be sensitive. This is who they are and they need acceptance, love and support to thrive! 

Sensitivity is NOT the opposite of strength. Do not attempt to change them or “toughen them up.” Instead, BUILD them up with acknowledgement of both the strengths and challenges of being more sensitive and offer them tools to navigate all of the above.

2. HONOR THEIR BOUNDARIES

If your sensitive kid needs space, give them space…

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Highly Sensitive, Kids, ParentingKelsey Fox Bennett Boydhsp, Highly sensitive kid, highly sensitive child, ways to support your highly sensitive kid, acceptance, boundaries, downtime, routines, limit screentime, sensory support, movement, proprioceptive input, vestibular input, take care of your own feelings, ask for help, #toolsforbigfeelings, big feelings, tools for big feelingsComment
Some Signs Your Kid Is Highly Sensitive
Some Signs Your Kid Is Highly Sensitive

First and foremost it’s important to note that highly sensitive kids vary just as all kids vary. Each one has their own flare and personality. Each one’s sensitivity is expressed uniquely based on who they are, what lights them up, what type of environment they grow up in, and how their sensitivity is honored, ignored, or even shunned.

It’s also important to remember that sensitivity is a spectrum and if your child isn’t highly sensitive it does not mean they are a non-feeling machine. They are likely still compassionate, kind and aware of the world around them, but they are not innately conscious of or affected by the world as much as their highly sensitive peers. 

We all have the capacity to develop our sensitivity and awareness. But/and, we are also all born in a certain way. 

Dr. Elaine Aron began researching high sensitivity in 1991 and continues her research today. Her website and books have been helpful to many, including me, to recognize that high sensitivity is an innate trait - meaning highly sensitive people are born with a more sensitive nervous system and our brains’ work a little different. This innate trait reflects a certain type of survival strategy, that of observing before acting…

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Highly Sensitive, Kids, ParentingKelsey Fox Bennett Boydhsp, Highly sensitive kid, highly sensitive child, sensory overload, empathy, deep thoughts, care, passionate, is your kid highly sensitive, sensitivity Comments