The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When The World Overwhelms Them

As an HSP myself, reading "The Highly Sensitive Child" offered invigorating insight into the mind and heart of my oldest daughter, who is also highly sensitive. For many years, she and I have butted heads over nearly everything, and after reading this book, I was both humbled and empowered to reach her in a new way. Dr. Elaine Aron's practical tips in each chapter, particularly breaking down the developmental age groups, were refreshing, clear, and easy to implement. My husband and I have been discussing, at length, how we can foster our daughter's gifts in a more meaningful way and reframe her sensitivity as neutral, rather than the perceived "bad" that the world defines it as. My favorite aspect of the book included recognizing how highly sensitive children require lots of rest, breaks, and sleep; that they thrive within a routine and usually need help transitioning with life changes; how to help them cope with verbal or social aggression at school; and ways to facilitate conversation with older children or role play with younger ones. Our daughter was bullied in preschool, and my husband and I approached her teacher, to no avail. Had I read this book beforehand, I would have been able to offer concrete solutions on how to understand and help HSCs with the "teacher tips" at the end of the book. Having read "The Highly Sensitive Person" before "The Highly Sensitive Child," I would "highly" recommend both books, especially if a parent suspects that his/her child may be highly sensitive, as well. Both together offer a full picture into understanding oneself and children who may have been labeled "shy" (which is situational), but who are actually just sensitive. A great read for parents and teachers alike.

I found this book, along the the author’s book The Highly Sensitive Person, to be life-changing. By far the most important self-help books I’ve ever come across. These books explain why my children and I (and others in my life) struggle with certain things, enjoy certain things, and require certain things. Once I understood these concepts, embraced what that meant in my life and the lives of my kids, and began to apply the author’s suggestions, I felt like a new person - not flawed or inadequate, but whole, unique, and free to be exactly the person I was meant to be. Like a friend said, I now understand myself much better and realize why I am the way I am, without looking for excuses. I found this series of books at a time when my toddler son was struggling at school and seemed overwhelmed by life. (Through tears) I did an Internet search for “can a child be too sensitive” and found these books. Wow. I regularly pick up these books when I’m having a tough day, open to a random page, and am reminded of what being a highly sensitive person means. I share copies with anyone in my life - friends, other parents, medical and educational professionals - who I think can benefit from them. I recommend this book to anyone with a child who seems to have a more sensitive disposition than other kids. I really cannot say enough good things about it.

Since a big out of state move our daughter (who has always been highly sensitive) has had a lot of interesting "problems". My husband and I had felt like our wonderful child was turning into someone she was not and we didn't know how to fix it. We kept trying new things and trying harder to correct her behavior. We are definitely on a journey but this book really put a lot of things in perspective and gave us a unique point of view for our unique girl. It has truly been an invaluable resource to all of us. I was thinking about checking this out from the library, but since the price is good I ended up purchasing. I am so glad I did! I refer to this book and have it marked up with my notes and it is truly been an added asset to our family. If you are looking into this book, do yourself and your child a favor by reading it.

I have a daughter that fits the profile of HSC (i knew that before buying the book), but the book helped me verify that, as well as finding ways of handling her intense sensitivity. To be honest I don't like "labels" on humans, but I think that the issue of sensitivity is an important aspect of humans. It is NOT a one-off discrimination (you are sensitive or not), but it is a matter of how much sensitive you are. In most cases (majority of people/children) this could be addressed through -good- parenting, but there are cases of extreme sensitivity where you should take extra precautions to avoid problems for you and your child. This book is one of the best I have found on the subject and could help you a lot in understanding and treating various situations. It is also good reading in general. Highly recommended for the subject. Extra reminder for the anxious parent: Accept sensitivity but DO NOT let it change/alter YOUR role as parents. (trust me it is quite difficult...). Your child is not different, it is -just- more sensitive...:)))

I read this book a few years ago, and it still helps me. I find myself recommending it to friends on a regular basis. I was seeing a counsellor who suggested I go through the parenting section of a book store and find a good book to "reparent" myself. I found this one. The title really resonated with me. I'm so glad I bought it. It was the perfect book for my purpose, both because my parents weren't the greatest, and because I am highly sensitive. Soon after reading this book, I bought the adult version. I have to say, I found the adult book less helpful! I have also referred back to this book many times as a teacher, nanny, and now as a mom. It's paid for itself three times over. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks they, their child, or any child in their care, or anyone in their life might be highly sensitive. The book provides the perfect amount of background and science to understand the sensitivity traits, and it also provides detailed, practical recommendations for helping sensitive people deal with common frustrations and problems.

I read a blog post by someone who spoke about highly sensitive parents. When I read it, I realized it all fit me so well, so I started looked up this book (which I had heard and seen around before, but didn't pay much mind too) and bought it. I just discovered that I am highly sensitive and have a son who is 2 and is highly sensitive as well. Finding this book helped me feel like someone finally understood me, and what I was going through with my sons behaviors. Since reading this book, I have seen changes in both of us, since I can now recognize when we are getting overstimulated. He has been so much calmer, as I have adjusted his environment so he won't be so overstimulated, and my husband and I have adjusted some of our parenting techniques. I have worked on avoiding being overstimulated myself as well and have seen my daily headaches disappear! So many of my own childhood experiences relate to be a highly sensitive person, and I am excited to help guide him to have some better experiences and coping mechanisms. The term "highly sensitive" seems like a bad thing to be, but the science behind it, left me feeling like it was more of a "super-power" than something to be ashamed of. If any parent out there thinks that their son or daughter is highly sensitive, this is a must read. Highly sensitive people see the world differently and the world sees them differently as well; this book will help give your child the guidance they need so they can navigate the world around them better. This is also a must read for every teacher or caregiver, who at some point will work with a highly sensitive child. If you are a non-sensitive person, this book will help you appreciate those characteristics that may otherwise frustrate or confuse you.

I bought this book for my daughter after she came across a few excerpts and we had begun to come to the realization that her 2.5yr. old daughter was an HS child. After commencing reading, she told me the book was fantastic and a tremendous guide for dealing with an HS child. No question, the author is THE expert on this subject. I have since ordered the HS PERSON as my daughter/I fit that category. The key aspect of this book is to enlighten you on your child's personality, and then understanding it, minister to her in that way. With HS kids, if you don't recognize that part, they will get wounded many/many times growing up by parents who believe they are being whiny, etc. After you get a clear vision of who they are, you can raise them with that knowledge, and they will be far/far more well adjusted.

As an HSP with a highly sensitive child, I found this book incredibly insightful and it helped me understand my own childhood and why some traditional ways of coping with behavioral issues may not work with my sensitive kid. However, this book doesn’t have much practical advice for how to manage behavioral issues for sensitive kids- the author thinks we should basically rearrange our lives around them. She even makes a sweeping remark about how breastfeeding your child is obviously the best way to feed a child…which might be scientifically true but isn’t always practical or even possible - and seems far outside of the scope of this book. Overall, I’m still on the hunt for more helpful literature that offers attainable advice and can’t wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Great book! Unfortunately, in Europe the Science of Psychology does not have much to offer in readings about the subject of HSP (Highly Sensitive Person). That is the reason why I turn to US literature in this field. Again, this book is great to read even for non psychologists.

This is a good quality book. The service was good and it was an excellent read. I definitely recommend it.

Love this book, especially for my ASD2, ADHD child. Wish I knew about it earlier!

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La scienza non ne sa niente di questa categorie di persone altamente sensibili. E questo fa riflettere. Forse è meglio indagare su sindrome di asperger ad alto funzionamento e accettare ad amare queste persone così come sono, particolari, eccezionali ed unici.