Is your child highly sensitive? Is he easily affected by the emotions of others? Is he irritable or overstimulated after school? Is he highly fussy, picky, or dramatic? Does he have an “imaginary” friend? If so, chances are you have a highly sensitive child.

What is it like to be a highly sensitive kid?

You may already have a good idea, but if not, imagine being unable to distinguish your own emotions from those of the people around you! Everything you feel is so strong and overwhelming, yet you can’t find the words to explain how you feel!

For generations highly sensitive kids have been misunderstood.

They've been told, often unkindly, to “stop being so sensitive,” to “get over it,” and to “toughen up.” It’s no wonder highly sensitive kids grow up thinking there’s something wrong with them.

What most people don’t know is that highly sensitive kids are physical, emotional or intuitive empaths. Some kids are all three. Through one of more of their senses, they can easily feel energies that are beyond the physical realm. This is difficult enough to comprehend as an adult, much less as a child.

How to Help Your Highly Sensitive Child

It’s incredibly important to make sure your child’s fundamental needs are met. They need to be loved and to eat, sleep, play, and move in just the right amounts. They need to avoid chemicals and excess sugar because their bodies are sensitive, too. When their needs are not being met, it will be even harder for them to control their sensitivities. 

Here are 7 things you need to know to understand your highly sensitive child. He or she:

1. Easily picks up on the emotions and or thoughts of others
2. Can sense stressed energy in people, places, and things
3. May feel overwhelmed or unsafe in new or crowded environments
4. Has a tendency for food and environmental sensitivities and allergies
5. May have responses that are overly dramatic, emotional, or seemingly inappropriate
6. May feel the pain or suffering of people, animals, or the environment in their own body
7. May feel pain and discomfort more intensely than others

Discover Your Child’s Five Element Type

One of the things that has helped me the most in understanding highly sensitive kids is the Five Element system of Chinese medicine, a framework that allows us to determine each person’s unique nature.

The Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each Element has corresponding physical characteristics, personality traits, strengths, and challenges that shape each child’s overall health and way of being in the world. 

It is thought that one particular way of being will influence your child’s personality, health, and temperament above all others—their Dominant Element.

Once you discover your child’s Dominant Element, you’ll have a better understanding of how your child’s sensitivities will manifest. You’ll know how to support your child physically and emotionally to help them understand and use their gifts.

You can discover your child’s 5-Element type by taking the 5-Element Questionnaire on my website, or in my book Heal Your Child from the Inside Out, and learn more about helping your child thrive.

It’s our calling as parents and grandparents to assist our children in harnessing their sensitivities, allowing them to shine their lights brightly. They are going to grow up to be the healers, helpers, peacekeepers, change makers, and environmental stewards that will usher in a new level of consciousness. Let’s make sure they thrive! 

I will be writing for Heal Your Life again next month, this time with precise ways to help your highly sensitive child thrive, so be sure to bookmark this page. 

Editor's Note: Here is the article, 3 Simple Tools To Help Your Sensitive Child Thrive.