Parenting a Sensitive Child

What does it mean when I say “Is your child sensitive?” Our first thought, because of the way this word “sensitive” is often used, is that we’re referring to a sweet and thoughtful, empathetic and kind child, tuned into other people and their needs. . . What I’m referring to is more about how much the world outside seems to impact a child – how much noises, smells, strong tastes, scratchy fabrics, highly emotional people effect a child. It has to do with, for lack of a better word, the “filter” we all come with . For some of us, we filter out so much in our environment, just the right amount of information reaches us. For others, the filter lets through too much – more than we can digest, and too much information feels overwhelming or irritating. If this is how our child has been from the beginning, the sooner we understand this as parents, the better. As a child this sensitive to the environment grows old enough to be at school, it is often the case that the child appears to others as “insensitive” or “nothing seems to effect them”. There are a number of ways a child may cope with this heightened sensitivity, including the involuntary shutting down of emotions and perceptions, just to cope. As parents, we want to provide what our children need. A colleague, Deborah MacNamara, has written an article with more on this topic. Dr. Gordon Neufeld has also been helping parents understand this phenomenon for some time. The one-on-one approach to making sense of your child, and finding your way through as a parent is best done in private consultation (call or text to set up an appointment). If you are just exploring this idea, please enjoy this article by Deborah.