Highly sensitive children are Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) who need to be taught how to thrive as an HSP. As for any HSP, one of the most important things the child needs to do is to embrace and accept its sensitivity. Which brings us to the first tip:
Embrace the sensitivity of your child. If you, as a parent, don't embrace it, how will your child ever learn to embrace it? There is no cure or pills that can change a child or an adult into a less sensitive person. One can only push it away - but that's going to make your child unhappy as an adult.
When your child doesn't obey, or does anything that's not allowed, it's important to discipline it. That's the same for sensitive children. However, disciplining a highly sensitive child is different: raising your voice is usually enough. Otherwise, it will put too much blame on itself.
Avoid gossiping, complaining and talking bad about others. Highly sensitive children will absorb the negativity more than other children. However, make sure negativity has a place in your home: gently help your child how to deal with it.
If you feel your child isn't feeling well, it might be it will not directly telling what's wrong. So make sure to ask enough. It might have suffered from other cruel children - yes, children can be horribly cruel. Or it might just be it's overwhelmed by the other kids at school. And it might have noticed no one else was, resulting in a feeling of not belonging.
Teach your child privacy. Make sure to explain it's important to have time off, on its own.
Is your child feeling very emotional, even from little scratches or others being hurt? Make sure to listen enough. Sometimes, that's the only thing your child wants. Teach it to embrace and express its emotions in the right way. The earlier it learns how to deal with its emotions, the better. It will have to do it for the rest of its life.
If your child likes to play alone, enjoys doing nothing, or stares into the void: it's normal.
When you're changing the menu, do it slowly. Make sure to mix enough, as your highly sensitive child will need to adapt itself to the new tastes.
Buying clothes for your child? Make sure to remove the tags - they can bother a sensitive kid.
If you're watching a movie, it can be scary for your highly sensitive child. So don't be surprised if it pees in bed afterwards. Avoid watching those - even one scary scene can be enough.
One last important tip: be genuine and be yourself. If you're not being frank, your highly sensitive will notice it and might copy your behaviour.
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A few questions to think about:
How do you see your child's sensitivity? How can you view it in a more positive way?
How do you deal with your emotions? How does that affect the way you're teaching your children to manage their emotions?
How do you make your child deal with fear? Can you teach it how to conquer fear with small steps?
Is your child really telling what is going on? Do you feel like it is hiding something from you?
What hobbies are you proposing to your child? Are they adapted at its sensitivity?
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